Infinite Unmasked
by Pokerocker
Summary: Infinite, after his defeat in Sonic Forces, wakes up in an Eggman Headquarter facility. He and Eggman decide to instead of conquering Mobius, they'll conquer the galaxy. However, before the trip, Infinite discovers and takes in an unconscious, partially blind girl. To their surprise, she eagerly agrees to join them in their quest of conquering the galaxy. (InfinitexOC) (FINISHED!)
1. Eggman's Headquarters

(Infinite's View)

(Eggman's Headquarters)

(Two Days after his Defeat in _Sonic Forces_ )

Light begins to seep in my eyes from an unknown state. I open my heavy eyes, a hiss coming out of my mouth as the light above me amplifies my migraine, a nearly unbearable one that makes my head seem to literally thump to the same beat as my heart. With a weak groan, the strongest one that I can manage to get out, I lift my aching hands onto my face, covering my eyes from the light. But, that strikes a concern.

"Where's…where's my mask?" I mumble, lifting myself up until my arms buckle. With my head and back on the infirmary bed, I turn my head around, my neck in the least state of pain, finding my mask, as well as my red sword in the distance, standing next to the door on my left.

"Mobius dammit…" I murmur out, rubbing my eyes. After I do, I attempt, once again, to sit up, but the same result occurs, making me realize that I'm bound to the bed from whatever knocked me out. When my back and head lie back onto the bed, the door opens, revealing Dr. Eggman. Eggman's eyes widen. A grin creeps up his face.

"So! You've finally came around, Infinite! Glad to see you're awake!" He hums out, walking to me, leaning down to something under the bed. He pulls out a wire, its end connected to a white, bulky machine with a dark blue screen a circle of plastic on its other end. I quickly realize that my chest, on both sides has this too. He places it onto my arms.

"What…What are these?" I ask. "There's electrodes. These sense your vital signs and condition, which I can monitor on this machine." He says firmly, in a way that seems he's disappointed or annoyed, but I can't tell which one he is. Probably both. Anyways, after some time, he walks to me, stroking through his mustache. "You should be fine. You're actually in a better condition than I thought you'd be in, especially with the Phantom Ruby out of you." He says. My eyes instantly lighten as they grow wide. It's out of-?! What on Mobius HAPPENED!?" I boom. A hiss comes out as a pain rips through my chest. Eggman exhales a quick breath through his nose. "You lost to Sonic and his friend. You went into a reactor. The Phantom Ruby's power protected you, but it shattered in the process." He says. My eyes widen ever more. My pupils jitter in shock. "I…I lost!? Me?! How!?" I boom. Eggman shrugs his shoulders. Then he continues his explanation. "When I took you to this Headquarter, one of my main ones to be exact, I ran some tests with you and your capability to the Phantom Ruby. I have bad and good news…"

"What."

"You sure you want to hear?"

"YES! TELL ME!" I boom out. Eggman perks up, sighs and strokes his mustache again. "Well, your body isn't compatible to it anymore. However, the _good_ news is that the Phantom Ruby left you the power of super speed, identical to Sonic's." He says with a grin. I frown. "So, you want me to still help you?" I snarl. He nods. "Yes. I have a couple plans for Sonic and this galaxy of ours." He sneers, a toothy grin forming. My eyes widen. "The galaxy? You're thinking of galactical domination?! How will that be possible when we can't even take over _this_ pathetic planet!?" I ask, my hand clenched into a fist, frustrated of the retention of my defeat. Eggman grin doesn't fade. "Don't you remember that I'm a mastermind of technology, Infinite? This will be nothing, but it'll take some time to build." He says. He turns his full body to me. "So, you in?" He asks. I nod. "Yes…but promise me, Eggman. Give me the task of ruling the planets after we conquer them." I snarl. Eggman frowns. "But how will I build the Eggman Empire?"

"Does that matter?"

"Yes! That's the reason I even _have_ all these robots! Are you dumb?!" He booms. I scoff. "I suppose. Fine, one or two of the planets will be the Eggman Empire, but the rest is _mine_ for keeping."

"Very well. Now, since we have _that_ covered, let's talk about your recovery." He says. "What about it?" I ask in a snarl. Eggman frown worsens. "Let's just say you're going to listen to _me_ for your recovery, or I'll leave you out for dead." He scowls. I bite my lip, and then scoff. "Fine."

"Good…Oh, and about your mask. It'll need to be repaired. Half of it is burnt to a crisp thanks to the electricity of the reactor. Give me about a day, but that day isn't today, nor tomorrow." He says, turning around to the door. "So how long _will_ it take?!"

"Be patient Infinite, it won't be too long. For now, though, rest up. You need it for our galactic conquest." He says, walking out, slamming the door behind him. I bite my lip.

Let's just hope this conquest won't end the way it did with this pathetic planet.


	2. A Little Favor

(Infinite's View)

(1 ½ Weeks Later)

(Eggman's Headquarters)

"Gah! Come on stupid body!" I scowl to myself as I struggle to stand to my feet. I don't understand why my body is still almost unbearably sore. I've been bound to that infirmary bed for around a week now, even though for half that time, I've been able to sit up. The issue was my godly weak legs. They couldn't even support my body's weight for a good week! However, my legs manage to support my weight, but not without waves of pain rippling through them as I walk to the nightstand next to the door, slipping my reconstructed mask and my red sword before I make my way through the vast number of hallways, trying to find my way to Eggman's "plotting room" as he calls it.

As I trek through the hallways, at the halfway point, a large robot stands in my way. I grab the hilt of my sword. "Out of the way, robot." I snarl. The robot points his blaster at me. "No. Primary order: Keep you away from Dr. Eggman." It says in his monotone voice. I raise a brow under my mask. "And why's that?" I ask, pointing the tip of my sword to the robot's neck. It goes into an attack stance. "Primary Order: Keep you away from-!" It beeps out, but before he could finish his sentence, I "interrupt" its order by slicing horizontally through its chest. Sparks fly as its body skids to the left, the sound of screeching metal ripping through the room before it crumbles onto the floor.

"Hmph. Wonder where _that_ came from." I scowl, sheathing my sword into its sheath, attached to my belt. With that said, I slowly trek my way closer to the plotting room. Soon, I find myself confronted by two of the same style of robot, guarding each side of the door. Grabbing my sword's hilt, Eggman's voice snarls out for the robots to relax and let me in. The robots lower their blaster hand, turning their head as I walk into the plotting room.

The plotting room is a very large, very tall room with dark blue wallpaper. In the center of the back wall is a massive, gray machine, or should I say a computer, with a massive screen, small TV's branching off the machine's thick sides. A keyboard is on the machine as well, the buttons and switches flashing every second. However, Eggman isn't at this machine. However, he's in the center of a room, a large table with a figure of a massive spaceship on it. Papers with lines, numbers and formulas that I cannot decipher are scribbled all over it. Eggman grins as he lifts his head to me.

"You feel any better, Infinite?" He asks, scribbling more numbers on a new sheet of paper. I shake my head. "No. Recovering yes, but at a slow, agonizing pace." I snarl, walking to the figure of the spaceship. "So, this is it?"

"Yes. After I finish this series of mathematics, I'll begin to build it. It'll take around a month to a month and a half. It's not easy to build a spaceship, Infinite." He says. "I never said that, Doctor." I snarl back. "You assume I'm dumb?" I ask, turning my back to him. "I never said that, Infinite. Hmph. Anyways, Infinite. I have a favor to ask of you." He says, straightening his posture. I turn my head to him. "Please don't tell me it's something pathetic."

"It might be for you, but it's essential for the ship. I need this special oil only found in the closest city's auto store." He says. After scribbling down the name, he hands me the note and some cash. I push the cash back. "No need for currency, Doctor. I'm a mercenary, remember? Stealing will be a breeze for me."

"Oh. Yes. I should have remembered. Anyways, you'll have to go through a dense forest to get there from here. Nothing you can't handle, Infinite." He says, stepping to his spaceship figure, leaning close to it. I scoff. "Very well. If it's essential for this mission, I'll go, but I'm _not_ your servant." I scowl, slipping my note into my sword sheathe. With a stretch of my non-sore arms, I begin my trek out of the safety of the headquarters to the city. Let's just hope something more exciting will happen during or after this stupid trip. And for some reason, I have a feeling it will. It might be just looking ahead to the trip into space, but I don't know. I have a certain feeling that something important will happen.

Let's just hope I'm right.


	3. A Discovery in the Forest

(Forest)

(Infinite's View)

(One Hour Later)

"Hmph. What a waste." I murmur, sheathing my bloody sword after killing the last of 10 police officers, their crimson blood absorbed by the forest floor. These officers were no match for me, even though I am slightly impressed by their dedication to kill me after I stole all of the special oil from the auto store, which comes up to a mere five large bottles.

Anyways, with that entire situation aside, I lift the nearly ripping bag that the bottles are in into my hand before slipping it around my shoulder, the bag under my underarm. Now with the bag situated somewhat comfortably, I begin my trek into the forest. I was already in it, but near the entrance, so I have a near 30 minute walk until I return to Eggman's Headquarters. With that in mind, I let out a grunt. "This is just ridiculous, going through all that and walking a whole half an hour through this forest just for oil." I snarl to myself, trekking through the forest. A gentle breeze kicks up, the wind brushing against my bare fur, arms, legs and chest. I find myself now standing in place, looking at the blue sky, well, what I can see of it at least. The trees' branches block most of the sky. Why I stopped, I don't know. Maybe because I was caught off guard by the tranquility of this forest? I rather not have this type of peace, I never have. If I did, why would I even conquer this world in the first place?

After regaining focus, I make my way through the beaten path, ducking under and slicing through foliage for around 20 minutes. However, as I duck under a low hanging branch, I hear something odd. It sounded like a groan. I unsheathe my sword, stopping my steps, listening for the groan again. Unfortunately, for a whole five minutes, it doesn't repeat. Exhaling a quick breath out of my nose, I begin to sheathe my sword, but the groan returns from my right. I unsheathe my sword once more, making my way off the beaten path. Two minutes pass by with nothing in sight, until I hear something that's not a groan directly to my right.

"Sh…Shadow…" It groans out.

 _Shadow_

That word pierces through my skull like a bullet. I clench my jaw, my mind flashing back to him defeating me, calling me worthless, pathetic and worst of all-

Weak.

Unable to control my anger, I burst through the brush, but skid to a stop as I finally find the origin of the groans.

A girl.

Leaning against a tree trunk lays a silver, female hedgehog. She is a bit thinner than most, but her muscles has more volume than most as well. She's wearing a black, leather vest with a dark blue shirt that has spikes going below her waistline. She also has a dark blue (lighter than her shirt though) pants and black boots on. But, one thing stands out from her. Her left eye has a yellow burn on each side of it. In her hand is also an attention-grabber. In her hand is a glowing, silver sword. It glows with a blue aura around it. The girl, as she whispers the dreaded name of Shadow winces in pain, her hand gripping her sword's hilt tighter than before. Knowing that she's not a threat (at the moment perhaps), sheathe my sword and set the bag down. I kneel to her, lifting her onto my shoulder before grabbing the oil bag.

"You're lucky girl," I whisper to myself. "You really intrigued me with that glowing sword of yours and your familiarity with Shadow. Now…" I whisper, making my way through the rest of the forest, the girl only groaning occasionally through the trip. I soon enter the headquarters, finding Eggman waiting for me at the main door. He raises a brow. I toss the bag to him. "That's all they had."

"Hm. That's fine. Now, who the hell is that?" He asks as we enter the facility. "Found her in the woods. She apparently knows Shadow since she murmured his name. Her sword also glows for some reason, so I presumed I'd interrogate the kid. I have to know why she is familiar with Shadow." I snarl, walking into the infirmary room, tossing the girl onto it. Eggman shakes his head. "That blasted hedgehog. So, a glowing sword?"

"Yes. It was glowing blue."

"Hm. That _is_ intriguing, Infinite. I'll definitely give you that. Why not I run some scans on her and figure out the cause of that." He suggests, lifting the girl onto his shoulders before walking towards the door. I raise a brow under my mask. "You sure that's a good idea, Doctor?" I ask. Eggman turns around. "Why wouldn't it be?" He asks, curious about my remark. "What happens if the girl wakes up during one of those scans?"

"Good point. I'll first see how deep she is in her unconscious state. If she's deep enough, I'll begin those scans. It shouldn't take a whole day to finish, but I need to fix the machines that will do the other scans, so be patient, Infinite. It won't be too long."

"Hmph. Very well. I'll be in this room."

"Good. Your body needs it. Say…How did you carry this girl with your sore body?" He asks, grabbing the doorknob. I shrug my shoulders. "My upper body is not sore. My legs are the only thing that is." I explain. Eggman nods without a word, closing the door behind him. I walk back to the infirmary bed, a thought coming into my mind.

Why would Shadow attack this girl? What is she hiding, and who in the hell _is she_?


	4. The Name's Luna

(Luna's View)

(One Week Later)

(Eggman's Headquarters; Infirmary Room)

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Wha…" I moan out as these beeps wake me up from an unknown darkness. With a groan out of my mouth, I lift my hands onto my throbbing head, thumping in the same rhythm as the background beeping. Wincing at the sheer, nearly unbearable intensity of my migraine, I open my heavy eyes, finding myself directly under a light, which causes my migraine to thump even harder. I moan and slowly sit up. With that, I feel something on my arm. I look at right arm, finding some white circles applied onto it, connected to a bulky, white machine. A blue screen shows my heartbeat's pulse and some numbers and letters that change with every passing second that I cannot decipher.

"Am…Am I in the hospital…?" I murmur, looking around the infirmary room. A dark green, wooden door is on the left with a nightstand next to it. Turning my head to the right, I find medical bandages on a metal box, but none of them are uncurled. I lower my head to find my clothes on, which surprises me since no hospital leaves patient's clothes on. I bite my lip, turning my head back to the front. When I do this, I notice my sword's hilt peeking from below. I lean over as much as my body can, seeing it leaning against the bedframe. For the first time since I can remember today, I smile, grabbing my sword's hilt. I place the sword on my lap, brushing my thumb against the engraving of my name on the center of the hilt. Tears begin to well up in my eyes, but they sink back into them as the door creaks open. I clutch my hilt tight, ready to attack.

The door fully opens, revealing Dr. Eggman and a masked person walking through the door. Instincts take over. I leap onto my sore feet and with a battle cry (for intimidation and from the pain of my aching legs) leap off the bed. However, I forgot about the circle pads that are applied to my arm until the circle pads pluck off of me, but with that happening, I lose pretty much all of my momentum and crash onto the floor. I try to scramble up to my feet, but the masked man grabs my arm tight.

"Let go of me!" I scream, pulling my arm back. The masked man keeps the tight grip on, it not loosening a bit. I, with no other choice, swing my sword to his arm, but he releases his grip, does a backflip and unsheathes his own sword, it being crimson red. Clenching my jaw, I strike at him, but he easily and swiftly blocks with his sword. He forces my arm to make a circle with his sword. This action knocks my sword out of my hand. He catches my sword with his free hand and leaps to me. I manage to dive out of his way. I scream as my body slams onto the metal floor. Towering over me, the masked man shakes his head. "Worthless."

"We'll…We'll see 'bout that." I puff out. At that moment, I manage to use one of my powers, the ability to create artificial darkness, this spreading through the room. The masked man steps back in shock. I rise to my feet with one of my other abilities instantly activating.

Night vision.

With the masked man in sight, I charge at him, kicking him on the chest, not without hissing out from the pain. He falls onto the ground, releasing my sword. I pick it up, spin it and attempt to pierce his heart, but the masked man rolls out of the way, flips to his feet and jumps into the air. I chuck my sword towards him, but to my dismay, it barely misses him. My sword clatters onto the ground, next to Eggman. I bite my lip. "Shit." I whisper. However, that was a bad move as well. The masked man, hearing my voice, tackles me to the ground. My head slams onto the metal floor, causing me to scream out and tears of pain streaming down my face. The masked man, now pinning my arms down, locks his one visible eye onto mine when my artificial darkness fades out.

"You put up a good fight girl, but don't think I'm impressed with your abilities." He snarls. I turn my head with a scoff. "Why would I think _that_ at the moment dude? I have more important things in mind than you!" I snarl out. The masked man exhales a quick breath out of his nose. "Quick-witted."

"You betcha. So, what do you want from me, masked man?" I snarl. He unpins my arms and stands to his feet. "What do I want to know? A couple things actually. First off, how do you know Shadow?" He asks. I raise an eyebrow. "Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about!" He booms out. I wince, my migraine beginning to throb harder. "No. I don't! Next question!" I scream back, sitting up. He pulls out his sword. "No. You know Shadow. You murmured it when you were unconscious." He snarls, pointing the sword's tip to my throat. "And you're going to answer."

"I would, but I don't remember, okay?! Give me the next question already!" I boom. The masked man glares at me, but obliges. "What's your name, girl?" He asks. I scoff. "Luna. Any other questions?" I reply. He nods. "Why was your sword glowing blue when I found you?" He asks. I raise a brow. "It was still glowing? It shouldn't have been…" I whisper, running my hand through my silver quills. "I'll try to figure out why it was still glowing, but know, that's part of my powers to make my sword, and sometimes by body, glow with an aura, actually two, but that's all you're gonna know. Happy now?!" I scowl, managing to stand to my feet. The masked man turns to Eggman, who nods. Turning his head back to me, he speaks. "For the most part. Now, we'll be leaving, but I must say it surprises me that you don't recognize me."

"Should I?"

"Yes."

"Then who are you?"

"Infinite. I am the one who nearly conquered this world. Let me guess, you thought only Eggman did that?" He asks. I shake my head. "You didn't conquer the whole world mister. If ya did, you would have conquered my hometown, but ya didn't. Anyways, Infinite, huh? What type of name is _that_?" I ask. He shakes his head. "If you saw my unlimited power before I fell, you would understand." He snarls, walking to the door. He stops. "But kid."

"The name's Luna."

"Hmph. Fine. _Luna_ , remember this. If you want to be like me, if you want to have _infinite_ power over the world, let me tell you the trick. Don't accept pain. It only hurts if you let it."

Infinite then walks out, followed by Eggman, who slams the door behind him. I bite my lip, questions racing through my weakened mind.

Who is this Infinite guy? Why did he rescue me if he's merciless? Just…who _is he_?


	5. The Offensive Aura

(Infinite's View)

(One Week Later)

(Eggman's Headquarters; Training Room)

Training. I really don't think I need it these days. I mean, I have trained with my sword since I was 5. I'm 20 now, but I had an urge to train, probably to get my mind off of my impatience towards the building of the spaceship, but also to take my attention off Luna.

My mind, for the last week, ever since she woke up, has been focused on her for the most part. Her powers and personality are so intriguing to me. She hasn't explained the full extent of them yet to either Eggman or me, but I think I can pry it out some time soon, and maybe the reason behind her scarred eye. On the other hand, her personality is something else. She's so quick-witted, seemingly always knowing what to say in any situation. She's also not afraid to tick people off on purpose and to lash out when she's offended either, which for some reason, makes me respect her, but not much. She's still a mystery to me, and I'm not going to be tricked by her.

Anyways, with my closed eyes, I practice my sword swings, strengthening my still sore, but not too sore, wrists, imagining enemies in my way. I also kick and flip and corkscrew around in the air, until a voice comes from the door. Landing on my feet, I open my eyes and turn to the door to see Luna. Sheathing my sword into the leather sheath that's slung around my back, I cross my arms.

"Why did you come here, Luna. I thought you were still sore from the injures from Shadow." I say in a firm tone. Luna exhales a quick breath through her nose. "Does that matter to you? I thought a person like you wouldn't care about my condition." She asks, inflecting her voice. I scoff. "What do you think, Luna? But, I'll just answer your question. No, I don't care about that. So, why did you come here?" I snarl, taking a step towards her. She shakes her head. "Because I want to move and not be bound to an infirmary bed. I thought you'd figure that out. I mean, _you_ felt the same way when _you_ were defeated."

"That was a fluke." I scowl. "I cannot be defeated."

"But you were. Even a fluke, as you call it, still counts as a defeat, Infinite, but let me guess, you cannot accept that." She sneers out, a toothy grin crept on her face. I unsheathe my sword. "You seriously think _that_ scares me? Dude, I have a sword too! Just put it back, Infinite. I'm not here to hurt you." She hums, her grin shrinking into an odd, sincere smile. "And don't say that "That's what _all_ people say when they want to hurt someone." I know that." She hums, her toothy grin returning, but not as big. I, despite not wanting to, oblige, sheathing my sword. She smiles. "Good choice." She hums, turning her back to me.

"So, since we're deep enough in the conversation, I don't mind telling you that I heard from Eggman that we're going into the galaxy to conquer planets and I don't mind telling you that I'm going with you." She hums out. Under my mask, I raise my brow, but it soon sinks back to its original position. "He's letting you, huh. Guess he's naive, trusting people that he barely knows."

"And let me guess, you're not like that?" She asks. I scoff. "What do you think, Luna?! Some people are _paid_ to be spies, to earn people's trust and then break them! Even though I'm pretty sure you're not one, I'm not letting my guard down, hear me?!" I boom. She shakes her head. "Dude, you don't have to get worked up, and yes, I hear you. Now, I have one question for you." She says, unsheathing her sword. "Why not we see who's _truly_ better?" She hums, creating her artificial darkness, spreading through the room like a mist. Before I could process what's happening, I am tackled onto the wall. Luna hops back, concealing herself in the darkness. I, with the super speed, the only remaining power from the Phantom Ruby, speed into the mist. However, the mist doesn't move. As I realize that this darkness is non-movable, I am kicked onto the ground and before I could stand up, my arms are pinned down.

"Well. How does it feel to be quickly defeated?" She hums, pressing her knee into my bare chest. I wince in pain. However, I manage to kick her in the chest, freeing me from the pin. I leap to my feet, unsheathing my sword.

At that moment, Luna's silhouette appears, a red aura creating it. With a grin, I swing my sword at her chest, but she blocks. I attempt to slice her neck, but she leans back and jumps at the same time, kicking my sword out of my grasp. With the sword clattering on the ground, concealed by the darkness, I step back. Luna, to my surprise, throws her sword behind her (I only know that by the clattering sound.) She attempts to punch me, but I speed around her. She must have forgotten about this speed as I begin to pummel her, slugging punches left and right with the speed. She flies onto the back wall and crumbles to the ground.

"Hmph." I puff out as she rises to her feet. I then leap to her, arms cocked back for a punch, but she rolls out of the way, turns around and slugs me in the chest with so much power that the metal wall shatters. Crumbling to the ground, I moan, managing to stand to my feet. Luna grins. "So?"

"What...was that?" I grunt. She shakes her head. "My offensive aura." She hums, grabbing my neck. She then gives me a sincere smile, letting me go. "You know, I must admit something. Two things actually."

"And what's that?"

"Number one. You're not bad of a fighter without the Phantom Ruby, and second...I need to admit that I don't think you need that mask, Infinite." She hums, giving me a wink. With that, she turns her back to me. "See you later." She says before walking out. I slowly place my glove on my mask. I shake my head after she closes the door. "No," I whisper. "I cannot show my unsightly face, and definitely not to you, Luna. You don't need or deserve to know what type of fool I was."


	6. Intruder Alert

(Luna's View)

(Four Hours Later)

(Eggman's Headquarters)

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! ALL DEFENSES TO SECTOR TWO! ALL DEFENSES TO SECTOR TWO!" The intercom blares throughout the elaborate, extensive headquarters. As the intercom repeats the alert, I take off from the living area, where I was resting my body from the battle between me and Infinite, making my way through the quickly crowded hallways. I grunt as Eggman's large, bulky, black robots crowd the hallways to Sector Two, one of the sectors close to the back of the Headquarters.

"Why do Eggman make more defensive robots than slick, offensive ones? He should have thought of the slow pace these tin cans are going at, and he thinks _they_ can beat Sonic?" I snarl, jumping onto one of the robots before leaping from robot to robot, closing in on the entrance.

"Luna! Luna! Do you read me?!" Infinite's voice shouts from somewhere. Landing off the front robot, I run to a corner of the outside, concrete wall, hiding from the intruder, or possibly more than one intruder, frantically looking for the reason behind Infinite's clear voice when he's nowhere to be seen.

"Luna?! Do you READ me?!" He booms. I quickly realize that the voice is coming from below me, the right side, where my sword happens to be. A golden button that must have been added to my sword's hilt, sits near its top. I quickly hold it down. "Infinite?! You put a walkie-talkie into my sword and NEVER TOLD ME?!" I boom back. Infinite responds. "It was Eggman, kid! Never mind that! I'm facing the intruders! Get to Sector Three NOW!" He booms. Silence rings out afterwards. Biting my lip, I shake my head. "Thanks for the vague answer 'bout the intruders, Infinite." I scowl, dashing towards Sector Three, which is around two blocks from my current position.

As I reach the wall separating Sector Three from my position, I hear a huge crash. Before I could realize what caused it, a concrete chunk, a bit larger than a basketball, rockets straight towards me. I manage to duck, barely dodging the concrete chunk in time. I straighten my posture, finding a red echidna standing in front of the concrete rubble. The echidna raises his brow.

" _You're_ Infinite's friend?" The echidna asks me. I tilt my hand left to right, signaling a "so-so" message. "Kind of, echidna. We're close _acquaintances_. Now, why are you stalling? Fight me!" I sneer loudly, charging at him. The echidna jumps into the air to dodge, letting me have the opportunity to create my misty, artificial darkness. As it spreads, the echidna's eyes widen and then begin to frantically look around as he stands in the darkness. With my night-vision now activated, I charge. The sound of my boots hitting the concrete, though, allows the echidna to dodge by leaping into the air. A grin creeps up my face. With a holler, I chuck my sword at him, the spiraling blade slicing his leg. He howls in pain before plummeting onto his side. The echidna scrambles to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Well, you're certainly an easy defeat." I hum from the darkness. "So, why not I help a helpless mutt like you have a better chance on beating me?" I hum, activating my blue, defensive aura around my body and my sword. With that, the silhouette of my body appears from the darkness. The echidna clenches his jaw before charging at me, the gash on his leg seeming to not affect him at all. I shake my head. "Idiot."

The instant after I say that, the echidna strikes my sword with his spiked knuckles. His eyes widen as my sword doesn't even scratch from the impact. I begin to grow a grin, it growing larger when the echidna locks eyes onto me. "Bye-bye." I sneer, kicking him on his chest. He stumbles back, in which I, as he does, sweep my leg onto his, knocking him onto his back. I step out of the darkness and stomp my boot onto his chest. The echidna grins. With a roar, he slugs my bare leg, his spiked knuckles piercing my skin. I scream in pain and stumble back, giving the echidna the opportunity to scramble to his feet. Regaining focus, I swing my sword like a baseball bat as the echidna's fist rockets towards my chest.

Both of them strike their opponent simultaneously. I am rocketed through the hole of the concrete wall, slamming onto the ground while the echidna slams onto the concrete wall parallel to mine. I manage to stand to my feet, finding that the echidna is slumped over, but his chest rising and falling. The instant I realize, with the breathing, that he's only unconscious; something slams into my punctured chest. I scream out, my body colliding with something else, since whatever it was, it moves along with me. I groan, sitting up to see a scrawny, blue hedgehog. He narrows his eyes. "So, _you're_ Infinite's friend?"

"For the last time. I'm his close _acquaintance_." I snarl. "And you must be Sonic." I snarl, standing to my feet. "You're…scrawnier than I expected." I say. Sonic smirks. "Yeah. People say that a lot, but I need to juice out. See ya kid." He sneers. A gust of wind blasts by me and Infinite (the thing I slammed into) in the right direction. I turn my head to see the echidna gone. Infinite stands to his feet. "Gah…That blasted hedgehog. He's going to pay…"

"He beat you _again_?!" I shout out in an amused tone of voice. Infinite, in response, slugs me onto my puncture wound on my chest. I scream out, but remain standing. "Dude!"

"He didn't beat me. It was a tie."

" _Sure_ it was. So, who was that echidna? Know his name?" I ask. Infinite nods. "Knuckles. That's his name." He replies. I scoff. "Not surprising. Well, let me guess, they got what they came here for?" I ask, straightening my posture. Infinite nods. "Yes. They got confirmation on our trip."

"They went through _all_ this trouble for _that_?! They're more reckless than I expected." I scowl. Infinite nods and takes my arm. I try to tug it out, but his grip remains tight. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I am taking you back to the infirmary room, Luna."

"That doesn't mean you need to-!" I begin to remark that he doesn't need to hold my arm to do so, but the next thing I realize, I'm _in_ the infirmary room. He releases his grip and with a quick exhale of air out of his nose, he walks to the door. "Rest up. You need it."

With that, he slams the door behind him, leaving me only to ponder more on who he is, what happened to him to make him so merciless and why he's so keen on destroying this world and conquering others.


	7. Stuck in the Past

(Infinite's View)

(One Week Later; 11:45 P.M)

(Eggman's Headquarters; Living Area)

Defeated. I was defeated yet again by the scrawny, annoying and impulsive hedgehog. Sure his speed is good, but my speed is identical to his and yet I was beaten down. I don't understand what could have done this, what he has and I lack, but I _will_ figure it out, and I will slaughter him so nothing will stand in my way.

At the moment, I am pondering on my defeat in the middle of the night, searching for any clues, any tactic that he used that is still present in my memory that I can use against him. That pondering, after 15 minutes, is interrupted by Luna as she walks in.

"You're still up?" She asks in a curious tone. I scoff, leaning off the back of the red couch I'm sitting on. "What does it look like, Luna?" I snarl back. She frowns. "Don't snap at me like that, Infinite."

"You do it to me all the time." I snarl in a quiet manner. Luna smirks. "Touché. Now, why are you still up? And don't tell me it's about your defeat a whole _week_ ago." She scowls. I look to her, narrowing my eyes. Luna, after a couple of seconds, shakes her head. "You're an idiot."

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me, Infinite!" She booms back, taking a step towards me. I stand to my feet, unsheathing my sword before swinging it towards the bottom of her neck. She, instead of dodging, activates her blue, defensive aura, causing my sword to bounce off. She shakes her head again. "You never learn, do you?" She snarls, unsheathing her sword. I make the first attack onto her sword. She, to my surprise, doesn't shield it with her blue aura. Instead, she goes her more uncomfortable route (she told me she's more of a defensive fighter). She goes _offensive_. She pushes her sword towards me, making me stumble back one step. With that, she swings for my chest, but I corkscrew in the air, chuckling my sword onto hers when my vision is locked onto her. Both swords slam against the metal wall, clattering onto the floor soon after. I land on my feet and leap to her. She dives onto the floor, quickly turning onto her back as I run to her. She flips to her feet and karate kicks me on the side. I howl when my body dents the metal wall. I somehow land to my feet, and somehow manage to dodge her fist. She winces as her punch dents the metal wall (not as much as my impact did though), leaving me the chance, which I took eagerly, to kick her on the head. She screams out, back colliding onto the metal wall. She crumbles to the ground at the same time I begin to run to her. She, when I reach her, is on her feet. I grab her shirt collar, slam her onto the wall, slug her chest before chucking her across the room. She slides to a stop at the end of the living area, not without a large nightstand toppling over her as her body hits the leg of it. She wheezes for air as I kick her onto her back and place my foot onto her chest.

"Dude…You didn't have to…do _that_ …" She groans out. "I only called you an idiot. It's not _that_ bad of a word. I can totally call you somethin' worse." She scoffs with her voice slightly stronger. "But if you don't want that, take your boot off of my chest. In return, I'll reveal the reason why I called you an idiot." She snarls. After a quick hesitation, I step off of her. She, with shaky arms, pushes herself into a sitting position. "Look. The reason why I called you an idiot is because you're still stuck in the past. You're still too hooked up on your defeats to become stronger."

"You're wrong. I was reexamining Sonic's tactics and determining what I could do to use those tactics to my advantage." I snarl. She exhales a quick breath out of her nose. "Really. Well, that's odd of you." She sneers. "But there's another thing."

"And what's that?"

"You cannot accept defeat. Your past defeats still linger in your mind. Yes you might be reexamining them, but you're still too weak to _accept_ that you lost. You just have to let them go. _That's_ the way to become stronger." She replies, standing to her feet. She turns and takes a step towards me. "And you better learn to let go of your past. I don't know if _you_ can, but I know that _I_ can. Because I _did_. Now, if you excuse me, I'm heading outside."

"And why's that?"

"Because of two things. First off, I need to train, something that _you_ don't like to do and _secondly_ , I feel calmer under the moonlight, and you _better not_ change that after I wake up tomorrow morning." She scowls. After that, she winks. "See you."

With that said, she walks to her sword, snatches it off the ground and walks out of the living area. I shake my head. "Being stuck in the past, huh? Wonder why she believes _that_ of all things."


	8. Broken Sword

(Bedroom)

(10:45 A.M.)

(Luna's View)

(One Month Later)

One more week. One more week 'til Eggman's spaceship is completed, completed to travel across the galaxy and conquer planets, making an universal anarchy, in which we'll be the rulers, me the queen and somewhat unfortunately, Infinite the king. The reason that it's unfortunate is because Infinite is too evil, to merciless to be fit for a king. On the other hand, I'll be the queen, not _his_ queen though. Why? If I'm the queen, that means that there _will_ be stability in the planets we'll rule over, even if Infinite agrees with it or not. And Eggman? He'll have _his_ own planets to rule over. Infinite and I won't have any role in his Eggman Empire.

Anyways, right now, I lie in my bed, tired and staring at the ceiling fan, watching the "petals" as I call it (since my childhood home's ceiling fan was shaped as a flower), slice through the air, gently circulating air through the room. I turn onto my side, clutching the nearby, long pillow in my arms. As I begin to drift off to sleep, something in Infinite's room (which is in the same area that my room is in, but it is separated by a large wall), crashes. I snap up, my heart quickly beating faster. With a groan, I fall back onto the bed, turn around and reach to grab the long pillow, but that action is interrupted when Infinite kicks the door that separates our rooms, open, and the wooden frame whacking the wall in the process. I snap up and also snap my head to him.

"DUDE! What the f*cking hell do you think you're DOING?!" I boom, tossing my dark blue sheets off of my body. As I hop onto my bare feet, he answers. "Does that matter?"

"YES! I was nearly asleep when somethin' crashed into the wall and THEN you had to kick the flippin' door open, scaring me half to death!" I scream out, marching to him. "Now, please explain what happened in your room so I don't obey my urge to slice your gut open here and now!" I snarl. Infinite exhales a quick breath out of his nose. "You wouldn't do that though, would you?" He hums, his deep voice slightly inflected. I clench my jaw. "Don't ask that. You don't understand what I've done in the past!"

"Did you kill someone?"

"I never said that."

"So you did kill someone. Hmph. We're more alike than I initially thought, Luna." He chuckles deeply. With a roar, I unsheathe my sword, swinging it at him with my offensive aura activated. Infinite swiftly kicks from left to right, knocking my sword across the room. With the sword now clattering at the end of the room, Infinite chuckles. "You and your temper."

"Don't say that, Infinite. You have the exact same problem, yet you won't admit it. And you know that makes you weak, right?" I hum out, a toothy grin creeping up my face. Infinite clenches his fists. "Don't go there, Luna."

"Why?"

"I'm not in the mood to kill someone, especially you." He snarls loudly. I raise an eyebrow. "Especially me? What does _that_ mean?" I ask in a hum, in a curious tone, but my tone also hinting some teasing. Infinite scoffs. "Doesn't matter. You shouldn't care anyways, so don't ask me." He snarls, turning around. He attempts to walk off, but I grab his shoulder. "Infinite, before you go, I need _you_ to answer two questions for me." I scowl, gripping his bare shoulder tighter. He shoves my hand off. "Fine. Be that way. What are they?" He asks. "What the hell happened in your room to make that crashing sound?"

"My precious sword shattered when the nightstand toppled onto it."

My eyes widen, surprised at that rare occurrence. "And how did _that_ happen?"

"…I tried to get up and my feet accidentally toppled the nightstand over. My sword was leaning against it." He scowls out in embarrassment. A smirk forms on my face. " _Wow_ ~! Nice goin' there, Infinite. So, let me guess. You're going to wake up Egghead to make him fix it for you?" I hum. Infinite scoffs. "That was my original plan, but he's most likely asleep." He snarls. "So, the other question?"

"I was just wondering if _you_ considered me a friend." I ask. Infinite's eye (the only one I can see through his mask) widens. "A friend?" He asks. I scoff. "That's what I said, Infinite." I snap back. "So, are you going to answer the question or not?" I scowl out. Infinite shakes his head. "No." He replies, turning around to the door, grabbing its knob. "Because you already know the answer."

With that said, he slams the wooden door behind him, a couple of dark green splinters knocked out of the door. I step back, and then frown. "Okay, Infinite. Be that way. But don't think you're never going to be forced to answer the question, because you _will_ answer it. Count on it."


	9. The Truth

(Luna's View)

(1 ½ Weeks Later)

(Outer Space; Eggman's Spaceship; Bow of the Ship)

Infinite and I have been talking with each other for a whole and a half of a week now, most of them being arguments (not surprisingly), and all of them have been about our past. For the majority of the week, he's been trying to pry out my past. To Infinite's dismay, the prying attempts haven't worked at all. With that noted, I'm going to make sure it never will _unless_ he proves to me that he's worth to know my painful past. The painful past filled with feelings of betrayal, a bit of guilt and overall agony. All of these feelings, for me at least, trailed behind me, and still are behind me for more than eight _years_ and all those years had me labeled as an orphan, even though that was entirely my fault. However, I'm glad I chose to be one, especially after what happened.

Anyways, right now, I am lying on the silver bow of the ship, waiting to head to a new planet, and new land. Eggman said that it'll take a day or two to arrive at the nearest planet, a forest planet, filled with tribal villages (an easy planet to conquer if you ask me.) Eggman also remarked that it's filled with valuable resources, such as metal, wood (obviously, but I have no idea why he'd use wood) and gold, which he states will be the go-to way to convince others to be his followers. Personally, I'm not sure about that. People aren't that easily swayed, according to what I've seen on Mobius. I mean Eggman, Infinite, Sonic and I aren't like that, which means the more powerful individuals on these planets should, theoretically, should be the same way. Even Doctors, I suppose, can be idiots too.

As I lie on the silver bow, my eyes, I soon find, are dotting around, looking at every star that shines above me. This comforts me, and yet begins to accelerate my heartbeat. I know what's going on too. I quickly force myself to sit up, keeping my eyes away from the stars, possibly the same stars that I used to watch whenever I was small, before my family's fall. At that moment, a presence is behind me. I scoff, lifting my head up to see Eggman.

"What do you want, Eggman?" I snarl. "I'm a bit busy trying to get my mind off of the past." I snarl. Eggman laughs. "I thought you weren't, Luna! Especially after what Infinite told me about that verbal lashing you did to him!" He says loudly. I scoff. "It's okay to remember things, Egghead, but you just have to know how to _get out_ of it. It just takes a bit of time for me. Infinite, on the other hand, he sure doesn't know how to. So, again, what the hell do you want?"

"Infinite wants to see you."

"Of course he does."

"He also told me that he wasn't going to interrogate you about your past."

"Really? Hmph. It's still a no."

"Why?"

"Because if he wants to talk, he needs to be here in his _own shoes_ to ask, not fetching someone to do his work for him!" I snarl loudly, standing to my feet. Eggman grins. "You're sure quick-witted. Always knowing what to say." He hums, turning around. "I'll fetch Infinite and tell him to come down to you. Have a good chit-chat, Luna~!" He hums out in a happy, odd way. A way that makes me feel _real_ uncomfortable. I scoff. "You sure are somethin' else, Egghead." I whisper under my breath, watching Eggman walk into the bridge of the ship, and then disappearing behind a sliding, white, automatic door. I cross my arms, waiting for Infinite to appear. He soon does and walks down the side stairs that leads to the bow. He stands at its end, arms crossed. I narrow my eyes.

"What do you want _this time_ , Infinite?" I snarl, standing in place. Infinite exhales a quick, loud breath through his nose. "Nothing about your past, Luna. All I want is to ask you something on an entirely different subject."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"Hit me."

"Why did you happen to think that I considered you a friend?" He asks. I exhale a quick scoff. "Let me guess, we're not?" I sneer. Infinite shakes his head. "That's not _exactly_ what I meant, Luna. All I want to know is the truth."

"The truth, huh? Why should I tell you the truth?" I snarl. Infinite scoffs. "Because, Luna. I saved your life. This is a way to repay me, and it's not a big payment." He replies. I scoff. "First off, you didn't save me. I would have woken up, but fine. The reason I still think you're considering me a friend is because you're impressed with my powers. I also think that because if you didn't respect me like a friend, I'd be dead. There's nothing else to it besides that. So, am I right or am I wrong?" I ask in a sneer. Infinite doesn't respond. Instead, he turns around and walks off, murmuring something.

"What did you say?" I shout. He stops for a second, slowly turns around and answers. "You'll figure it out soon enough, possibly after the conquering of the forest planet." He says firmly, walking towards the metal stairs, leading to the interior of the bridge. I shake my head; a small, toothy grin already crept up my face. "Dude! Just tell me! Telling me the truth won't hurt!" I shout out. Infinite stops before his boot steps onto the first stair step.

"Don't put a request like that onto me! It might hurt if I say "no" wouldn't it?! You just figure it out yourself! It'll be less painful that way!" He says loud and firm. My toothy grin grows. "You _do_ care about me then! But let me guess why you won't tell me! You're still not sure that I'm worthy to be your friend, right OR is it that you WANT me to be your friend but aren't strong enough to admit it!? So, Infinite! Which one is it?!" I shout, walking to him. He stands still until I'm near enough for him to unsheathe his sword, pointing its tip at my throat. "I need you to stop talking."

"Why?"

"You're making it _real_ hard for me not to kill you."

"But are you going to, Infinite?" I hum, knowing the answer. I mean, he hasn't done it yet and I have been teasing and ticking him off ever since we met. He sheathes his sword. "No. For once in my life, no. You're a valuable asset to this mission, but nothing more." He scowls before walking off. When he marches through the automatic door in the bridge, I smirk.

"He's too scared to admit it. Typical. Now, let's just see if he'll ever become strong enough to do it."


	10. Rocking the Spaceship

(Infinite's View)

(Personal Room)

(One Week Later)

(20 Miles away from the Forest Planet)

Luna's tougher, mentally and physically, and smarter than I originally thought. For two weeks now, I've attempted to pry her past out of her, but the three (most of the time two) answers I always get simultaneously are: tears from her non-blinded eye, verbal backlash and the occasional physical backlash. Now knowing that it'll take more than threats to get her past out of her, for my benefit of _slightly_ manipulating her (I don't want her to realize the manipulation part; she _might_ be smart enough to realize my plan if I attempt to manipulate her fully.) Why do I want to manipulate her?

I need someone that I can trust, and if I can make her trust me completely _and_ not protest against my decisions, I know I can trust her for anything. On the other hand, I don't want her, necessarily, to be my friend. That's because I don't want to be betrayed. I don't want to be hurt emotionally. In fact, one of the things I realized by betrayal is that the saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies. Making her more of a sidekick than a friend will prevent that from happening.

Anyways, I am training in my personal room, which, this time, _isn't_ connected to Luna's by a wall. I've been training with my sword, plus the gymnastic aspect (flips and corkscrews in the air) for around two hours now. When I actually realize this when I look at the digital clock on my nightstand. With a heavy exhale, I sheathe my sword into its sheathe, set it to lean on the edge of the end of my bed, sling a white towel over my neck and walk to the personal water cooler in my room. I requested this from Eggman so I don't have to walk all the way to the kitchen, which is near Luna's room. I don't want to walk all that way so I don't run into Luna with my mask _off_. She still doesn't deserve to see my face.

Slipping my mask onto my forehead, I wipe the dripping sweat off my forehead and chug down the whole water bottle. Wiping my mouth with my arm, I slip my mask back on and walk to the door only to be greeted by the door swinging open. With my quick-reflexes, I manage to jump back. Eggman, standing before me, narrows his eyes, his lip being bitten.

"Please tell me you know where Luna is, Infinite." He scowls. I scoff. "No. I don't. She's not my responsibility, Doctor." I snarl. Eggman turns his head to the door. "Of course. I should have expected an answer like that." He grunts, walking out. I take a step to him. "And why _exactly_ do you want Luna?"

"Why should you care?"

"I don't."

"Then why?"

"Just curious."

"Hmph. Fine. There's a reading on the radar that something's near us. All I can find near the radar's location is a black cloud. Something _has_ to be hiding in there, and since Luna has-." He begins, but I intercede. "Night-vision, she can look right through it. Why don't _you_ look for her Doctor?" I ask. Eggman scoffs. "I _did_! Why would I come to _you_ if I didn't look for her in the first place?!" He booms. Narrowing my eyes, I push him out of my way. "Fine. I'll look for her." I snarl, walking out of my room, heading down the hallway to her room. Eggman catches up to me as I grow near Luna's room. Before long, as I make it halfway, I can hear a guitar roaring from her room's direction. I glare at Eggman. "I think I found her."

"But…I already looked in her room." He comments.

"Well she's obviously back in it." I reply in a scowl, continuing our walk. With every step, the guitar, and now words being screamed, comes to our ears. Before long, with Eggman covering his ears from the rock music, which is literally, but slightly, vibrating the floor, I kick Luna's door open. The music, in its mighty blare, seems to double in volume. Luna, as I open the door, is punching and kicking a punching bag. Her ears have orange, foam ear plugs inside. Her mouth is moving to the words of the song, which is repeating "Burn it down!" over and over. With a grunt, I walk to her boom box, shutting it off. Luna snaps around to me.

"Dude! That was my favorite song! Why in the hell did you turn it off, man?!" She shouts. I scoff. "Eggman was lookin' for you. He needs you to use your night vision for something." I say, turning around. "And now, I'm leaving." I snarl. However, Eggman's hand grabs my shoulder. "No, you're not. The radar says whatever is in that dark cloud is enormous."

"So?"

" _So_ , if it's a spaceship or somethin' along those lines, I need you two for the destruction of that ship." He says, releasing his grip on my shoulder. I exhale an annoyed breath out of my nose. "…Fine. This better not be a waste of my time." I snarl, walking in front of them. Luna and Eggman soon catch up to my side. Luna shakes her head. Eggman looks to her, puzzled. "Luna?"

"It's nothing. I just don't understand why you don't have a night vision system installed in this ship." She snarls. Eggman chuckles nervously, rubbing his bald head. "Well, I knew you were coming…so I thought you'd be my night vision."

"YOU THOUGHT **WHAT**?!" She booms, unsheathing her sword. "Egghead, I am _**not**_ a tool! I'm not here for your convenience! You should have kept that a-!" She begins to say "secret", but an explosive sound rockets through the ship. Eggman dashes off to the cockpit, quickly followed by me and Luna. Luna, pushing Eggman to the side, activates her night vision.

She suddenly becomes enraged.

"YOU IDIOTS!" She screams, turning to us. "HOW DID YOU GUYS **NOT** SEE THIS COMING?!"

"See what coming?" Eggman asks.

"It's the flippin' Blue Typhoon! It's Sonic and his friends' ship! They found us!"


	11. Sonic's Threat

(Spaceship)

(Luna's View)

(One Minute Later)

"How did they flippin' FIND US?!" I scowl under my breath as I bolt through the hallways, trying to track down any of Sonic's friends that came aboard or Sonic himself. I presume that Knuckles will come back for revenge since I knocked him unconscious last time, which isn't surprising for a hot-head like himself. Eggman told me 'bout his temper. However, I'm not concerned with Knuckles' temper and strength. In fact, I quite look forward to ticking him off. It'll make it easier to catch him off-guard. Let's just hope I'm right.

Anyways, as I bolt a sharp left into the living quarters hallway, I find Infinite and Sonic duking it out, spin-attacking one another in the hallway, creating large dents in the metal walls. Infinite, as I hide behind the corner of a nearby wall, out of their sight, grabs Sonic's hands, in which they both begin a strength match. Also, both of them have sustained bruises and scratches all over their bodies. Sonic, to my luck, has his back facing me. With a quick step out of my hiding place, I chuck my sword in attempts to cut a huge gash into that scrawny arm of his. However, something pink and red crashes into my sword, sending it rocketing towards me. I dive away from my sword's path, watching it spin across the floor to the other side of the hallway. I turn my head around to find a red and pink hammer in the center of the room, the object that knocked my sword out of mid-air. With my jaw clenched, I scramble to my feet, dashing to my sword only to find myself skidding to a stop as Knuckles snatches my sword from the ground. Tightening his grip on my sword's hilt, he narrows his eyes.

"Just who _are_ you, girl?" He scowls. I raise a brow. "What kind of question is that, Knuckles?" I snarl back. Knuckles frowns. "Are you dumb to not know what that means?" He snarls. I bite my lip. "No. I'm not. Let me guess, it's a dumb way to ask "what's my name", right?" I scowl back. Knuckles shakes his head. "You're dumber than I thought."

"What?"

"TAKE THIS!" A female screams from behind. With no time to react, I am propelled onto and then instantly through my room's wall. I tumble to the edge of my bed, in which I use to lift myself to my now slightly wobbly feet. The female, a pink hedgehog in a red dress holds the huge hammer in her hand while Knuckles holds my sword. Knuckles puts his other hand on the end of my sword.

"You know I can snap this." He says. Tears begin to well up in my eyes. I bite my lip harder. "My _mother_ made that for me. If you take the chance to snap it, you're dead, you mutt!" I snarl, a single tear rolling down my cheek. Knuckles' eyes narrow. "I am NOT a MUTT!" He booms. A grin then creeps up my face. "Then prove it. Fight me!" I scream out, dashing to him. The pink hedgehog takes an offensive stance while Knuckles charges to me with my sword above his shoulder, ready to use it like a baseball bat. Knuckles swings for my head, but I flip over him and spin around with my leg out, sweeping Knuckles' off the ground. He plummets onto his back. At that moment, the pink hedgehog takes a step, swinging her hammer at me. I duck before tackling her to the ground. Her hammer rolls out of her grasp. I scramble to my feet, moments before she stands on hers. Thanks to that, I manage to grab her dress' collar and chuck her onto Knuckles as he stands up. Knuckles' grasp on my sword breaks as they crumble to the ground. Snatching my sword from the ground, I look up to see Sonic tackling Infinite to the ground. With a swing of my sword, I jump to Sonic, who greets me back with a spin attack. With a scream of shock and pain, my head collides on the back, metal wall of my room. A small gasp exits my mouth the instant that the collision happens. Crumbling onto the ground, my vision begins to spin. I try to lift my body up with my arms, but they buckle, making my body crumble back onto the floor. A shadow towers over me. I manage to lift my head just enough to see Sonic glaring at me, the pink hedgehog and Knuckles on his shoulders.

"What...do you...want...from me?" I gasp out, laying my head back down. "Nothing...at the moment. I'd love to take either of you to our ship for interrogation, but you two are too dangerous to keep on board. But I'll give ya one warning though: Don't think you're out of danger just yet. If you mess with me or any of my friends ever again, you're going to pay the consequences. Count on it." He snarls. Sonic's shadow leaves the next instant, leaving me on the floor with my vision slowly darkening. However, before I do blackout, I manage to lift my head to see Infinite standing behind the hole of my room's wall, my sword in his hand. He looks at it with his hands in the position to break it.

"Don't…" I whisper, laying my head on the ground my vision soon gone. However, Infinite shocks me with his words that I managed to pick up before blacking out.

 _I won't._


	12. Concussion

(Spaceship)

(Luna's View)

(Four Hours Later)

"'Bout time you wake up, Luna." Eggman's voice scowls out as I open my heavy eyelids, finding myself back in the infirmary room thanks to the same, dangling light that dangles from the ceiling. On the other hand this time I find that no electrodes are attached to my arm. With a groan, I turn my head to Eggman, my head now throbbing in the same, or near same intensity when I was first brought here by Infinite all those weeks ago. "How long has it been…? Please don't tell me it's been days…" I moan, clutching my back, right part of my head. My body jerks for an instant when I feel an unsettling lump on my head. Wincing, I put my hand back onto the mattress. "Why…is there…a lump…?"

"Luna, to answer your first question, you've been out like a light for around four hours now, and two, you have a concussion." He says, closing the door behind him. "And there's no need to do a series of concussion tests like most professionals do to prove that you have one. When Infinite brought you back, your speech was very slightly slurred. Only a few words were barely comprehendible. I'm a bit surprised your speech has returned to normal though." He replies. Biting my lip, I sit up, not to be answered by a pulse of pain through my head. I hiss out. Eggman shakes his head. "You need to rest, Luna."

"For how long?"

"Probably for a week or so." He replies, stroking his mustache. A slight gasp exits my mouth. "A…A week?! Eggman! I can fight!" I boom, but soon a scream of pain follows. Letting my body fall back onto the bed (with another wave of pain following), tears begin to stream out of my right eye. Eggman raises a brow. "You're…" He begins, but I open my eyes, glaring at him. "Well _yeah_ I'm crying! What does it look like?!" I boom out. Eggman shakes his head. "You're putting your brain under too much stress, Luna. And I can see you're crying. You don't have to snap back at me. I'm just surprised that you are. I never saw you cry before, yet alone like this." He says, his voice hinting sympathy. I grunt, turning my head away from him.

"You know, I do really want to know why you're crying right now." He says, taking a step towards me (I can tell from the sound of his boots.) I shake my head. "I know you want to know, but I can't tell you." I snarl. "And why's that?" He asks. I scoff. "Because I don't trust you. I wish I could, but I don't. I…I can't trust _anyone_ anymore…not after everything…" I hiccup, closing my eyes, letting the fresh, salty tears stream down my face. My body begins to shake, the pain and the emotions controlling it. Eggman lets out an exhale out of his nose. "I see…Your past has truly haunted you."

"You better believe it."

"Hm. Very well then. I'll leave you to rest now, Luna." He says, walking to the door. The door, though, doesn't close immediately. Before it does, Eggman sighs. "And Luna?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you dare try to join Infinite in the raid. We both agreed that you're too _physically_ weak _at the moment_ to fight, so don't expect he'd let you join him." He says. The door slams shut, leaving me alone in the faintly illuminated room. With a scoff, I slowly sit up, turning my body so my bare feet dangle off the bedside. With a sigh, I stand onto the cold, metal floor, the sensory of the cold making my head thump, causing me to hiss.

 _And he thinks that I cannot convince Infinite, huh? Infinite only somewhat cares 'bout me, or at least I think. If he doesn't, which isn't likely, he wouldn't care 'bout my pain nor if I die._ I think to myself as I slowly open the door to the hallway. I peer around the open door to see Infinite walking towards me. I step outside the doorway and cross my arms.

"Luna."

"Infinite."

"Why are you not resting? You heard the doctor's orders, correct? Or are you too injured to process all of that?" He snarls, walking to me. I roll my eyes and scoff. "I'm not _that_ wounded Infinite. I'm plenty capable to help with the invasion." I scowl back. Infinite cocks his head. "Oh really? Says the person who can't even sit up or shout without feeling immense pain."

"You don't know how much it hurts!" I shout, but wince. I lock my right eye on Infinite's left one (the only part that his eyes shows from; it's on my right, so it's his left.) I then sigh. "Fine. You got me there, but I still need to go."

" _Need_?" He asks in a hum. I nod. "Yes. I never raided a place before, and I'm not missing the first chance, Infinite." I snarl. Infinite shakes his head. "No."

"Why not?!"

"Because you're important to the galaxy raid, and I cannot afford to lose you." He says, turning around. I raise a brow. "Cannot afford to lose me? Are you saying that you appreciate me? You _like_ me?" I say, inflecting my voice in a way to tick him off. He scowls loudly. "I don't _like_ you, Luna, but yes. I appreciate you _enough_ that I'd like you to be my 2nd in command _when you're healed_." He says, turning his head to me. "Now rest up. You need it."

With that, he walks away, leaving me frozen in place with his words ringing in my throbbing head.

 _I'd like you to be my_ _ **2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **in command**_.


	13. Is it Worth Hoping For?

(Luna's View)

(One Day Later)

(Infirmary Room)

Okay. That's it. I cannot resist the urge any more. I have to find Infinite and take the capital down alongside him. Being bound to this infirmary bed does nothing for me. Sure my head is still throbbing like no other, but I'm tough. I can fight. I _know_ I can. I've been fighting for my survival since I was 10.

I'm 18 now. I've been through all types of shit, and one little concussion isn't going to stop me. However, problems await me. The first one is how to surpass Eggman's guard robots, the robots that pace through the halls, which surveying the area and Eggman's surveillance cameras. Also, the robots alert Eggman, in coding and/or through a walkie-talkie system built into them, on who (Infinite or me) passes by. This helps Eggman know where we might be or were seen last if we ever were captured by someone. The other problem is how to locate Infinite. I mean, Eggman knows, but there's 0% that he'll allow me to help Infinite. Guess I'll be on my own on finding Infinite.

Anyways, at the moment, I am lying on the infirmary bed, waiting for the "pacing robots" to pass by. Soon enough, their large metal feet stomp past my room. With that, I snap up into a sitting position, but not without a large hiss out of my mouth as my head thumps.

"At least it's slightly better…" I grunt, hopping off my bed. I quickly equip my sword, sliding it into its sheathe. With a sigh, I open my door, finding no robots in sight. First obstacle is out of the way. I bite my lip, knowing I have to dismantle Eggman's surveillance cameras _without_ making it obvious that I'm trying to escape.

On the other hand, I _do_ have an idea. Since the cameras don't pick up sound, I figure that I can slightly slice the wires, making them glitch a lot, but they'll still show some of the area on occasion. Let's just hope that I move at the correct moment, not when the circuits are intact for a couple of seconds.

As I sneak past some robots, I find the first of three cameras I have to surpass to get to the exit. With a sigh, I unsheathe my sword, looking with my only working eye to the slightly visible circuits. With clenched teeth, I press my back against the wall, moving closer and closer to the camera. With the camera now in reach, I jump and slice the bottom of the circuits, which begin to spark. I then bolt away.

However, when I make my way to the second camera, a battalion of Eggman's robots block me. I groan. "You've GOT to be KIDDING ME!" I shout, causing my migraine to return. The robots soon step to the side, letting Eggman walk through. I scoff. "Eggman. I can fight."

"I know you can, but not very effectively. We need you to be healed." He states firmly. I shake my head gently. "Eggman, I NEED to fight! I cannot waste the first opportunity to conquer a planet!" I reply harshly. Eggman sighs. "I wish I could say yes, but what would Infinite think about it. He obviously respects you." He says. My eyes widen, the voice of Infinite requesting me to be his "2nd in command" ringing. I lower my head, turning it to the side. "Yeah…Fine. Be that way. I'll listen IF you tell me why you think he requested that in the first place, Egghead!"

"How should I know?" He asks firmly. I shrug my shoulders. "I dunno. Just give me your honest opinion." I reply in a snarl. Eggman strokes his orange mustache, looking down. "Well…I suppose he could have finally accepted that you're strong…or the good hypothesis that he "likes" you. You know, romantically."

"I don't think that's the whole reason."

"Really?"

"Yes. And I'll tell you why before you ask why. If he liked me romantically, he wouldn't put me in harms' way, right?" I ask. Eggman shakes his head. "But maybe Infinite wants to conquer the galaxy _with_ you. He also knows you love to fight, so he's giving you the opportunity to fight _alongside_ him. And you know he's not the sociable type either. I really think he romantically likes you…and I think you presume the same." He says, turning around. "Take Luna back to her room. I have work to do." He orders his robots. Two of them grab my arms tightly and walk me back to my room, gently placing me inside. I shake my head and kick the door shut. Then I sigh.

"Romantically huh…?" I whisper. My heart begins to beat faster. My hands begin to shake. Tears begin to form in my eyes. I soon look down at my hands as I realize something and begin to think to myself.

 _Maybe my heart wants Infinite to love me. I don't know if I should due to his past actions, but I haven't been loved in eight years, so is it worth hoping for?_


	14. The Excuse

(Infinite's View)

(One Day Later)

(Eggman's Ship)

It's done. The deed is done. I have conquered the forest planet's capital, claiming myself king of it after slaughtering the now-former king swiftly and easily by my bare hands. However, this successful conquering won't keep me bound to this forest planet. Instead, I have recruited a wise (as his companions called him) chancellor to be serve as king, but due to me being the official king, part of the civilian taxes, which are turned over to the government to support their finances, come to me and the militia, when needed, will be under _my_ control. My wealth has increased tremendously, and if I keep this role going, I'll be the richest and _the most powerful_ individual in the galaxy. I will have no _weakness_. I will be _unstoppable._

As I reach the ship, guarded by some of my new royal guards, I wave them off without looking. The guards bow in response in understanding before trekking back into the forest that leads to the industrial capital. Soon, I enter the ship, quickly walking to the kitchen, where Eggman's own private rooms are connected to. However, I am stopped in my tracks at the sight of a peacefully sleeping Luna, who's lying on the large, red, living room couch.

"This is new. I thought Eggman would have kept her in the infirmary room." I say to myself. Eggman answers as he must have heard my footsteps coming, my words, or perhaps (and probably) both.

"She kept on complaining about being bound to the room. We compromised that she could sleep on the couch, but will have to spend the rest of her time in the infirmary room. We also compromised that she couldn't train. I caught her training once." Eggman explains. "She's quite the troublesome and reckless child."

"And also quite the courageous and daring one too." I whisper. My eyes shoot open, realizing that my words were spoken without any hesitation. Eggman's raises a brow and gives out a toothy grin as he strokes one side of his orange mustache. I glare at him. He begins to laugh. "So you DO have a romantic heart for Luna!"

"And WHY do you believe such a thing, Egghead!? It was only a compliment! People don't have to be in love if they compliment another person!" I roar. Eggman's laugh goes hysterical. After he calms down, he explains. "It's because it was _you_ who said the compliment. You're not the type to, so it's a clear-as-day sign." He laughs. I begin to unsheathe my sword, but the action stops halfway as Luna begins to stir with a groan.

"Don't be so loud guys…" Luna groans, opening her eyes slightly. Eggman apologizes briefly, gives me a wink before walking off. This gets me triggered, but Luna begins to speak to me in a pretty-out-of-it way.

"Infinite...there's a note on your bed...It's from me...but I'm too tired to tell you...please answer the question later…" She moans, turning her back to me. I raise a brow and quickly scurry to my room, indeed finding a note on my bed. I unfold it and begin to read it aloud.

 _Dear Infinite,_

 _I know this is sudden, but this question has been on my aching mind for a while now. You can probably guess what the question is. Even so, I'll ask anyways._

 _Why do you_ _REALLY_ _want me as your 2nd in command? It doesn't make sense to me. Btw, Eggman and I talked about our "relationship" too. It's not a big deal, so do NOT make a scene out of it._

 _Please tell the truth,  
_

 _Luna_

"Well then." I scoff, laying the note on my nightstand. I sit on my bed, trying to come up with an excuse. I don't want to tell her that she's the person I RESPECT the most in this world (besides my Squad, but their dead now, so…). She'll get the wrong vibe that I "like" her. Before long, I come up with an excuse. With it in my mind, I walk to Luna, who's still awake. She turns her body to me. "So...you read it…?" She asks in a groan. I nod. "Yes."

"So what is it?"

"It's because you're the strongest warrior, besides myself, of course, that I know. I need reliable backup and you're the perfect one. It's obvious to me, so I thought it'd be perfect for you." I reply. Luna, after some hesitation, nods. "Makes sense." She whispers, turning her back to me on the couch. "Now, I need to rest, so leave me alone." She whispers. I don't answer to her request, but I do oblige to it. As I walk off, I find myself stopping in my tracks, I turn to her.

"Oh, there's one more thing, Luna."

"What." She snarls, obviously not wanting any more of me. I grin.

"About the 2nd in command thing...You're welcome."


	15. Worked Up

(His Room)

(5 Days Later)

(Infinite's View)

 _This is takin' damn too long. Luna should have already been done with her concussion test by now._ I snarl in my mind, growing obviously impatient with Luna. She promised me yesterday that if her concussion test is passing, we'd battle in the training room, so, I must admit, I am quite excited. It's obvious she has become more powerful, so I am looking forward to see how much she has grown and also, of course, taking her down.

As I sit on my bed, I buy time by polishing my red sword. As I do for around three minutes, Luna opens the door. I lift my head to her, seeing her leaning against the doorpost, a determined grin on her face. I place the polisher canister on my metal nightstand stand to my feet.

"You passed, I presume?" I ask firmly. She unsheathes her sword, also polished as it shines. I narrow my eyes. "Let me guess. _That's_ what took you so long?" I scowl. She giggles. "Well, I _had_ to make it look good for the fight. I mean, dull-lookin' swords _are_ pretty boring." She hums happily. I don't respond to her comment, but walk with her towards the training room until she strikes me by spin-kicking me on the collarbone. I am launched onto the room wall, my body making a huge dent in the metal wall. I use the recoil of my body to tackle her to the ground. I pin her arms down. I grin under my mask.

"You sure surprised me there. I suppose you were impatient?" I ask. She grins and shakes her head. "No. I wanted to catch you off-guard and pummel you from there. Guess you're tougher than I thought." She sneers. I clench my jaw. "You thought I was weak?!" I boom, drilling my knee into her chest. She clenches her jaw in pain, but her grin doesn't cease. "I never said that, Infinite. Now, let's see if that comment stands true." She sneers, creating her artificial darkness, which spreads throughout the room. I shake my head. "That won't help you, Luna."

"I never said it would. On the other hand…I think _this_ will." She hums, activating her offensive aura. My hands instantly begin to have a burning sensation. Forced to release my hands, I quickly flip to my feet and unsheathe my sword, ready for her strikes. She unsheathes hers, of course, beginning our clashing of the swords in the darkness, her aura now the defensive blue. During the fight, we flip over the attacks and attempt to disarm the other with the spin technique. Luna and I, after one clash, have enough recoil to slide away.

"It looks like we're even, for now at least." I snarl. Luna shakes her head. "You're so oblivious, Infinite. You know that you depend on my aura to see my attacks. Let me show you how much weaker you are compared to me." She hums, deactivating her aura, leaving me only guessing on everything she plans to do. Quickly, her sword slashes my side from the left and her boot nails me in the chest, launching me outside the artificial darkness' range. Standing to my feet, I begin to breathe heavily, a bit tired from her attacks.

That's when her sword spins towards me. I flip to dodge it, but that's when Luna leaps to the air to tackle me. I, though, knew this would be her next attack, so I spin, nailing the side of my sword on her shoulder. She rockets into the wall, leaving a dent in the wall, though somehow smaller than the one I created. She crumbles to the ground, leaving me towering over her. As she stands, I point my sword to her throat.

"Checkmate."

"I don't think so." She snarls. The small heel of her boot drills into my boot, causing me to jerk my sword back a bit. She uses this quick opportunity to flip over me and kick me onto the wall. The impact makes me dismantle my sword, leaving us both weaponless. I turn to her as she thrusts her fist at me. I catch it, and soon the second fist. I jump and kick her chest with both feet, launching her onto the wall. She, to my surprise, has enough energy to jump off the wall, roll to her sword and grab it right when I grab mine. At the exact same time, we chuck our swords to each other. The swords fly towards each other, but hers flies right next to mine. Our swords slam onto the other, knocking us to the ground. We soon lock angry eyes and try to stand to our feet until Dr. Eggman shouts that the battle has ended.

"WHAT?!" I roar. "I can still fight!" I boom, struggling to my feet. Eggman exhales an annoyed breath out of his nose. "You think so? You can barely lift yourself up. Luna too. Besides, we've just arrived at the aquatic planet. Rest up for now. I have to plan where to make a base anyways." He snarls. With Luna and me now standing, Luna and I grab our swords and sheathe them. Luna sighs. "You did well, Infinite, but you didn't have to blow at Eggman."

"WHY NOT?! HE STOPPED OUR BATTLE!"

"He stopped our _spar_ , Infinite. And look, you're worked up _again_. If you always get yourself worked up, that could be a _disadvantage_ in a battle." She says calmly before walking off.

I became speechless. I quickly wonder if she was right, but shake the question off.

 _It's the anger, the seeking of revenge that makes me strong. It fuels my will to live. It makes me who I am, and I'm not changing that. It'll make me weaker. It'll turn me back to the old me, and there's no way I'll allow myself to do that._

 _And that's decision is never going to change._


	16. Knocked Out

(Aquatic Base)

(Infinite's View)

(Two Days Later)

I only sort of understand Dr. Eggman's reason to build a base here on this aquatic planet. I mean, sure Sonic is hydrophobic, but that doesn't mean he'll avoid our base at all costs. He knows that we're here, his enemies, and he'll do whatever it takes, despite his discomfort, to defeat us. He _is_ called a hero after all.

Dr. Eggman, Luna and I, for the past couple of hours, have been constructing the above-water section of the base with Eggman in charge. He already have completed the underwater section of the base, where he even has a system where if a puncture of the base would come about, it'll seal itself. How he designed it, I'm not sure, but I must give him props (even though I hate to admit it) that however his design works is genius.

At the moment, I am running, with my super-speed, outer wall parts to Eggman's robots from the ship, who weld the parts together and places the parts in their designated place. Luna, in the ship, sorts the parts out to assist me so I don't grab the wrong parts. Eggman, of course, supervises the construction from the ship with cameras set up wherever construction is taking place. My job, after two hours, soon completes itself when I place the last part in front of the robots. I zoom back to Luna, who has collapsed on her back in exhaustion.

"Those parts were ridiculously heavy…How do you do it?" She huffs out, sitting up. I scoff. "Cause it's easy for me." I reply. Luna scoffs. "Sure it is. Now, what's next, Infinite?" She asks, leaping to her feet. I shrug my shoulders. "Not sure. Does it matter?" I ask in curiosity. She shakes her head. "No. Not really. Just wonderin' if you have any plans in mind." She replies. "Guess not."

With that said, she begins to walk off, but I stop her, running in front of her path. She crosses her arms. "What now." She scowls. I narrow my eyes. "Don't talk to your commander like that, Luna. I have a question for you." I scowl. She narrows her own eyes. "It's 'bout my family, isn't it." She snarls, grabbing her sword's hilt. I hesitate, but then shake my head. "Not exactly."

"Then why did you hesitate?!" She shouts out. I scoff. "Can I just ask the question?!" I boom. She scoffs. "I dunno, can you?" She snaps back, clearly annoyed. I scoff back. "Fine. _May I_ ask the question?!" I boom. She unsheathes her sword within a blink of an eye, but I, with my quick reflexes, leap back. She clenches her jaw with her eyes jittering in rage, but gathers her composure. "Fine."

"How did you become an orphan."

"I don't want to talk 'bout it."

"Of course you don't."

"Yeah. I'll just let you on a hint then, knowing we'll bicker until you get what you want. One of my family members went insane. I fled before he could do anything else to harm me." She scowls, tears forming in her eyes before turning her back to me. "This all I'm gonna tell you. End of conversation. Now, let's go to Egghead to see if he needs-." Luna begins to comment, but then a kaboom sound pierces the quiet sound of gentle ocean waves crashing against the shore that is heard even through the metal walls of the base. Alarms begin to blare. Luna begins to shake in rage, infuriated that she hasn't been relaxing in her break yet. She spins around and runs off, only to be stopped in her tracks by Sonic who skids in front of her. She instinctively activates her artificial darkness, quickly attacking Sonic, slicing his chest, leaving a shallow gash. Sonic attempts to spin attack her, but I intercede. The collision's recoil sends us skidding away from each other.

"Luna. Get you ass away from here! I'll be fine! I need to show these fools my strength!" I shout out, starting a locked arm match with Sonic. Luna growls in anger before shoving me away, letting Sonic's strength to my arms take the best of him, causing him to stumble forward, giving her the opportunity to kick him in the chest.

However, that happened to a mistake.

Behind Sonic was Knuckles, who leaps at Luna as Sonic's body falls downwards. With no time to react, she is punched by Knuckles in the chest. Her body flies into the metal wall, busting a hole through it. I snap around to her, finding her motionless in the debris. This was also a mistake as Sonic spin attacks me as I stare upon the unconscious Luna. I manage to dodge, but not without a part of my mask being sliced off. I stumble back, my blue eye with my white scar now visible. Sonic grins.

"Now more of your unsightly face is visible, Infinite! You're outmatched! Give it up!" Sonic shouts. I clutch my sword tight. "Not a chance! I'm capable to defeat you AND the red mutt and you know it!" I boom. Sonic's toothy grin grows. "Prove it, tough guy." He sneers. I set my stance to fight, but something whacks me in the head. I crumble to the ground, my vision spinning. Another figure towers over me with Sonic and Knuckles. A red/yellow/pink hammer is in my line of sight. I attempt to lift myself, but my arms buckle, leaving me defenseless. I close my eyes and soon black out, but before that happens, words enter my ears.

 _Let's go guys. I think it's time to face him once again, but this time, on OUR terms._


	17. Don't Call Me Kid

(Luna's View)

(Aquatic Base)

(One Hour Later)

 _Thump thump thump thump_.

My headache beats intensely as I awaken. I groan, finding myself back in another infirmary room. Eggman must have installed one in this aquatic base too. Another, now more annoyed groan exits my mouth as I realize this. I, though, to my surprise, find myself able to sit up. Even more surprising, the act doesn't hurt at all. A small smile creeps up my face, knowing that whatever knocked me out, it only resulted in a headache.

Hopping out of the bed, I walk to the door that leads to the main hallway, only to be greeted by Dr. Eggman as he opens the door right before I could grasp the doorknob.

"You're awake. Glad to see that, Luna." He hums out. I open my mouth to speak, more specifically if I have another concussion, but he begins to laugh. "Let me guess! You wonder if you have another concussion!" He laughs jollily. I nod. "Yeah. Answer that question already."

"Hmph. You're already pissed off." He says, now in a firm voice. I scoff, turning my head. "Well sure, Egghead! This whole "getting knocked out" ordeal is _way_ too old now! Just answer the damn question already!" I roar. Personally, I don't know exactly why I'm _this_ worked up, but being knocked out for the third time now isn't amusing. Eggman narrows his eyes. "Fine. No, you don't have a concussion, Luna. You shouldn't talk to your boss like that either."

"BOSS?! What makes you think that _you_ of all people happen to be my boss!? I don't work for anyone!" I shout. Eggman scoffs happily. "I thought you worked for Infinite? Am I wrong?" He asks in a sneer. I bite my lip, hesitating to answer. This causes Eggman to laugh. "See what I mean?" He chuckles evilly. He then turns around and begins to walk off, but that's when I notice Eggman's robot, Orbot, holding Infinite's sword. I raise an eyebrow.

"Eggman…Where's Infinite?" I ask nervously with a hint of shock. I never seen, besides when the sword actually broke, Eggman's robot in possession of Infinite's sword. Eggman stops in his tracks. He scoffs. "I thought you didn't like him."

"I never said that, Eggman. I mean, he's _technically_ my boss, so I have to appreciate him a _bit_." I scowl, irritated that he's stalling. I know he's hiding something. He always hides stuff from us. I mean, he's a well-known villain. Villains love to have their opponents and rivals on their toes and having their undivided attentions. Keeping valuable secrets is one way to do that. Eggman cracks a toothy grin. "So you _do_ like him?"

"STOP STALLING!" I roar, unsheathing my sword. He steps back. Orbot rolls behind his master. Eggman hesitates, but sighs. "Fine. If you're going to be _that_ worked up, I might as well tell you so that you don't go into a temper-tantrum. Luna, Infinite has been taken hostage by Sonic." He says with his voice lighter and slightly hinting sorrow. My eyes widen. With a roar, I jump, grabs Eggman's shirt collar and pull him down with me so our eye level happens to be equal. Instead of the predicted fear, I find his eyes alight with rage.

"You're an IDIOT, Eggman! Just letting Infinite being kidnapped without a care in the world!? What kind of "boss", as you say it, let's one of their own men be taken without caring!" I roar, shoving him away. He stumbles back, landing on his butt. "Do you think I wanted him to be taken?! I had no idea that he was knocked out until it was too late, Luna! I swear!" He roars. I scoff. "Sure."

"I'm telling the truth! Don't you trust me?!" He roars. I shake my head. "Kind of don't." I snap back, turning my back to him before walking off towards the newly built cockpit, where the ship, plus smaller ones, are stationed. Eggman scoffs. "You're goin' into your personal fighter ship, aren't ya?"

"Yeah. So what? You don't want me to save Infinite?" I snap, glaring at the old man. He shakes his head. "It's not that. It's that I don't want _you_ to be captured or killed, kid! We need you alive!" Eggman pleads. I exhale a quick, annoyed breath through my nose. "Don't call me kid, Eggman. And why do you care if I die or not? You don't care 'bout me! Besides, I'm more than willing to die, especially after all the shit I went through when I was 10!"

"It's not about _me_ , Luna. It's about Infinite. He needs you alive. Kid, _I_ need you alive-!"

"CALL ME KID ONE MORE TIME!" I scream out as I turn around and chuck my swords towards him, tears flying off my face. Eggman dodges it, staring at me with disbelief. "You don't understand the pain that comes with that word! My…My father called me that."

"And the problem with that is?" He asks, chucking my sword back to me. I snatch it out of mid-air. "That's none of your concern, Egghead. Now, are you going to let me go or not?" I snarl, sheathing my sword. He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know where they are, Luna, so I rather not. However, if you happen to find them, then go right ahead." He says. I nod slowly and turn around and resume my walk to the cockpit. Eggman asks if I actually have an idea on where the Blue Typhoon is.

"Well of course I do. I have a feeling they're helping the forest planet. Let's just see if my hunch is on the money."


	18. An Attempted Interrogation

(Sonic's View)

(Blue Typhoon)

(2 ½ Hours Later)

"Well, _that_ was somethin'. Didn't expect an ambush _that_ big." Knuckles huffs out as we reenter the parked Blue Typhoon, which soon takes off from the forest planet. The ambush that Knuckles spoke of happened to be Infinite's personal army attacking us. Knuckles and I presumed that we'd take the army down quickly, but the sheer number of quite experienced soldiers surprised both of us. Well, at least we got the job done.

When we enter the main living area, right below the cockpit, Knuckles and I find Amy standing in front of an energy cell with Tails repairing the top, right corner of it since the energy cell is flickering. We have multiple of these cells, but I quickly realize that the cell that Tails is repairing is none other than Infinite's. Knuckles realizes right after me. I know this because right when I run to Amy and Tails, he bolts to us.

"Is he awake?" Knuckles asks in another huff. Tails shakes his head. "No. Not yet. He began to mumble a bit, so I predict he'll wake up soon. Amy's hammer sure took a toll on him." Tails comments, tightening a lug nut. He descends to the floor. "So, the battalion is finished up?"

"Yeah. I just hope the capital doesn't have any spaceships and they don't figure out that we took their king hostage. That'll aggravate them." I reply, running my hands on my quills. Knuckles punches his fists together. "Well, even if they do attack, I'm ready!" He shouts in pride, punching his fist against his chest. I smirk. "Oh really? Wanna prove how ready you are?" I sneer, pointing to the training room. Knuckles creeps up a toothy grin. That grin soon fades as Infinite groans. All of us turn to him as he opens his eyes, locking them onto mine.

"What's…what's going on you blue rat." He snarls, adjusting his slouchy sitting position with a bit of struggle. I smirk. "What do you think, Infinite? Don't you see that you're with us now?" I ask. Infinite, hearing this, manages to leap to his feet, but not without his eyes wincing in pain.

"You're an idiot, Sonic. Kidnapping a powerful king like myself! You have no idea what you've put yourself into!" He snarls, walking to the energy cell's orange wall. I smirk, exhaling a proud breath out of my nose. "Powerful? Doesn't seem like it. Now, we're going to ask you a couple of questions."

"Like I'd answer for you, you little rat." He scowls. "Now, tell me this. Where's Luna?" He asks in a growl. I raise a brow. I grin. "This isn't like you Infinite, caring for someone and all." I comment. He slightly shakes his head. "You wouldn't understand. I'm not a person to respect others, but Luna is different."

"So, you like her. You know, _like-like_ her?" Amy asks, curious. Infinite scoffs. "Perhaps more than Sonic does to you." He sneers, crossing his arm while leaning on the side of the cell. Amy's eyes light up, flames seemingly inside. I perk up, but soon place a hand on her shoulder. "Ames, he's trying to aggravate you. Calm down. Breathe."

Amy hesitates, but scoffs. "Fine. Just let me know if he makes fun of you to any extent. He'll be reintroduced to my hammer if he does, okay?" She asks in a snarl. I nod slowly. "Yeah. S-Sure, Ames." I say nervously. I personally hate Amy's rage going to basically anyone. Eggman is the _only_ exception. I cross my arms.

"Infinite. Let's start with the questions." I say firmly. He scoffs. "Just try prying _any_ information out of me, rat." He snarls out. I smirk. "We'll see if you're tougher than we think you are." I say. "Now, first question. Where's your next target."

"You seriously think I'd reveal _that_. You're dumber than the red mutt over there." He scoffs, glaring at Knuckles. Knuckles' temper peaks. He punches the wall, which flickers brightly. Luckily, Tails' technology is always prepared for any of Knuckles' temper tantrums, so the wall stands strong. Knuckles glares at Infinite, who raises a brow with curiosity. "I AM NOT A MUTT! I AM NOT DUMB! SAY ONE MORE THING AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE RESPECT THAT YOU DESERVE!" He roars out, slamming the palms of his hands against the energy wall. Infinite smirks. "I heard from Eggman that you're super gullible. You know, I forgot to mention something."

"What."

"There's a tarantula on the ceiling."

Knuckles snaps his head up. I face palm myself. Infinite snickers. "Guess he was right." He hums. Knuckles' eyes light up. He cocks his fist back, but I speed in front of his trajectory. He stops his attack.

"Sonic!?"

"Knuckles. He's messin' with you. Calm down. I'll take care of him. You go and relax." I say calmly. Hesitation soon follows, but Knuckles obliges. He glares at Infinite before marching off, grumbling some nasty words. Infinite chuckles evilly. "Those are quite the friends, rat." He hums. "Now. I know you have another question."

"I do."

"Then what is it?"

"How did you meet Luna?" I ask. Infinite's eyes widen, then narrow. "You're friend Shadow had somethin' to do with it. I don't know what exactly, but he did. End of conversation." He answers, turning his head away. I smile. "Thanks. That gives me an idea."

"And what is that?"

"I think Shadow would be more than thrilled to interrogate you." I say, turning my back to him. "You wouldn't." Infinite snarls out. I nod. "I would, and I am going to, for a couple reasons actually." I say, turning my head to him. "First. Shadow will be able to pry info out of you and secondly, he'd love to wipe you out again." I say. "Oh. Yes. One more thing."

"What."

"I told a genie something and now I'll tell you. I'm not a rat." I hum. "I'm a hedgehog."


	19. Scaring Cream

(Energy Cell)

(2 Hours Later)

(Infinite's View)

It's been two, slow, aggravating hours since Sonic left to contact Shadow to interrogate me. My mind, meanwhile, has been racing back to the past, the day when he pummeled me easily after slaughtering my squad, my only true and loyal friends back then. He quickly mocked me, calling me weak. WEAK! That word spirals painfully through my mind. It's tearing me up, and boy is Shadow going to realize how much when I face him.

As I sit against the left, orange, energy cell wall, I hear footsteps walking towards me. Without looking, I scowl. "So, is he coming? Did you convince the fool to face me." I scowl. Silence responds. I clench my jaw. "You ignoring me So-!?" I shout, snapping my head to find a small rabbit holding a blue Chao in her hands. My eyes widen for a second, but return to a glare. I turn my head back to look at the right wall. "You shouldn't talk to me, little girl. It's best for your well-being."

"I...I know Mr. Infinite. You and Eggman nearly took over the world. I just...have a question." She mumbles, clutching her Chao tighter. I scoff, exhaling a quick breath through my nose. "Sonic's worse than I thought, using a child like you as a scapegoat."

"It's not Mr. Sonic's question! It's my own." She says louder. I turn to her, my brow raised. "Oh really. Then why did you come to a mercenary like myself? There's no need to ask a stupid, childish question." I sigh. The rabbit shakes her head. "It's not stupid, Mr. Infinite! It's a question 'bout Luna. Mr. Sonic told me that you love Luna and-." She begins, but my fist slams onto the side of the left wall, startling the rabbit. The orange wall flickers, but soon settles back.

"I DO **NOT** LOVE LUNA! I DON'T LOVE **ANYONE**!" I boom, glaring at the rabbit. She begins to sniffle with tears in her eyes, affected by my devilish, soul-piercing glare. I clench my jaw. "Fine. What's the question little girl." I snarl, leaning forward. Her eyes widen. "You're...you're letting me? Why?"

"Cause Luna's temper tantrum would ignite. She'd pummel me down if she knew I hurt you, girl. I'm not in the mood to be beat up by her again." I say. "And don't tell _anyone_ about it or you'll pay the consequence of losing that precious Chao of yours, and I don't care if Luna would disapprove, hear me?!"

"Y-Yes Mr. Infinite…" She whimpers, staring at her Chao. I cross my arms, waiting for the question. She trembles, but asks if I knew about her past. I scoff. "No, unfortunately I don't. She always manages to avoid revealing the truth to me, even with her knowing I saved her." I scowl, standing to my feet. "No more questions. Leave me alone."

"No. I have another question now." She says firmly. I raise a brow, slowly standing to my feet. I slam both fists against the cell wall. "No? Listen little girl. You don't know who you're talking to. I can slaughter you within seconds. I know how to crack that neck of yours. I'll leave your mother in shambles. Now leave. Last warning."

The girl begins to cry loudly, hyperventilating from her being so worked up and upset. This quickly catches the attention of Amy, who has her hammer in her hand and her other hand pulling the crying rabbit against her side. She glares at me.

"You made a huge mistake, Infinite. You pushed me to my limit. You leave Cream and Cheese alone you asshole or you'll pay!" She screams. I smirk under my mask. "Then prove it. Free me and we'll fight. I won't run off."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. This could be a chance to get revenge for that girl. I bet you want that." I hum. "And besides, I don't have my sword. It _should_ be an easier fight against me." I hum even louder. Amy clenches her jaw, hesitating on what to do. Cream takes her hand. "Don't Amy. He's trying to get to you, like he did last time." Cream mumbles. I smirk under my mask. "Indeed, and it's working. It's easy to do with fools like her." I hum. Amy's eyes light up. She extends her hammer and swings it at the energy cell. The cell wall fizzles out, setting off an alarm. I swiftly spin attack her hammer's hilt, knocking it out of her grasp. I then backflip and spin attack her chest. Sonic zooms in and catches her, sets her down and spin attacks me, or at least he attempts to. This attack doesn't succeed since a blast comes from the ceiling of the ship, knocking him off balance. To my suprise, nothing in the hallway, where my now destroyed cell is, breaks or sparks about. Sonic, being the "vitreous hero" that he supposedly is, protects Amy from my spin attack with his bare chest. He flies across the hallway, flips to his feet and tackles me, launching both of us to the cockpit, the door busted down. Tails snaps his head around.

"Sonic! Get Infinite pinned down! It's his girlfriend somehow found us!" He hollers out, zooming to the captain's black, leather chair. Sonic, somehow, manages to pin me down with unnatural strength. I manage to kick him, but his surreal strength keeps me pinned. I, knowing I'm trapped, decide to look at the radar.

That's when I find Tails' smaller, but still effective cannons aimed at Luna's ship.

"ENOUGH!" I boom, thrusting upwards with all the strength I can muster. Sonic's grip soon breaks, letting me escape. I punch Sonic in his gut, kick him across and leap to Tails, tackling him through the glass onto the deck of the Blue Typhoon. However, we all hear the cannon engine whirring to life. I scramble to my feet only to watch Luna's ship be struck down. I bite my lip, watching the ship spiral towards the deck. Sonic, Tails and I dive out of the ship's way as it screeches to a stop. Luna, unscaved, hops out of the cockpit, glaring at me when her feet hit the floor. She walks to me.

"You're flippin' lucky that we're comrades, Infinite." She scowls out. I narrow my eyes. "Why did you come here?! I can take care of myself!" I roar. Luna rolls her eyes. "Oh really?" She sneers. "Then how come you were pinned down by Sonic?" She asks. I clench my jaw, rage building. My fists begin to clench and shake with that rage. That's when a deep, evil chuckle comes from the top of the cockpit. All of us turn to see Shadow grinning at us.

"So, Sonic _did_ capture you after all. I thought he lied to get me here for somethin' else." He hums, hopping down to us, his grin now showing teeth. "So, Infinite. I'll make a deal. You _and_ Luna fight me. If you win, we'll contact Eggman to pick you up. If you _lose_ , you're answering questions. Is this a "no" or "go"?" He asks, going into an attack stance. My eye begins to twitch. Luna places her hand on my shoulder. "Infinite...please don't."

"Too bad! Shadow! You're on!"


	20. Teasing Amy's Morals

(Luna's View)

(5 Minutes Later)

(Deck of the _Blue Typhoon_ )

Infinite lost, like I expected. I, even though I hate to admit it, recognize Shadow's superior strength thanks to the Chaos power he contains. Infinite, unconscious from the battle, was taken back into the now repaired energy cell. However, Tails has upgraded the walls' strength that vitrously nothing can destroy it. Funny thing is, at least to me, I'm _not_ being taken hostage. I actually was told to _leave_ , thanks to Tails already fixing my personal ship.

But I didn't. Why? Because I seek answers from Shadow, from the hedgehog who, according to Infinite, took me down. I need to know if that's the case, if Infinite told the truth when I first met him. I need to know the truth. And that's exactly what I plan to do.

Right now, I am sitting on the deck of the ship, staring at a nearby moon, pondering on why my powers must be incorporated with moons. Suddenly, Sonic taps me on the shoulder. I snap around.

"What do you want, Sonic?" I snarl out. Sonic grins. "I don't want anything from you, Luna. I came to inform you some bad news." He says, his grin turning into a straight face. I raise a brow. "Oh really? What is it? You killed Infinite?" I ask, crossing my arms. Sonic shakes his head. "Not that! Of course not _that_!"

"Then what."

"Shadow's not going to tell you about how you're supposed to know him." Sonic says. My eyes snap open. In angry reaction, I spin kick him on the chest, sending him tumbling across the deck. A girl's scream soon comes. I snap my head up to see Amy, hammer cocked up, falling straight towards me. I backflip away and unsheathe my sword. With a spin of it for taunting purposes, I grin.

"You really want to fight me, don't ya?" I ask. Amy clenches her jaw. "After what you and your boyfriend want to do the galaxy, hell yeah I do!" She roars. I shake my head, making a "tisk" sound as well. "Oh really? I thought it was only cause I hurt your boyfriend. I swore you didn't care about anything else." I hum. Amy's eyes begins to twitch. "You IDIOT! I have morals!"

"About Sonic?" I ask. Amy's eyes widen. "W-Well yeah! Who else would have so much of my moral attention towards?!" She shouts. I snicker. "I think you just proved it, Amy. Did you just say that Sonic is the _only_ one you have morals towards? Damn, you're worse than I thought." I sneer. Amy, unable to control her rage, leaps towards me. I activate my defensive aura on both my body and my sword, blocking Amy's hammer attack. As she lands on her feet, I sweep my own on hers, causing her to fall on her back. I, knowing she'll block my sword's attack with the hilt of her hammer, swing my sword down. She, as predicted, blocks. With a grin, I kick my foot under the hilt, kicking the hammer out of Amy's grasp. I leap up to the hammer, slicing the hilt with precision and ease. However, when I land on my feet, Sonic grabs me by my shirt collar and chucks me upwards. I soon crash through the glass window that leads into the cockpit. Tumbling across the floor, I am suddenly towered over by Knuckles, who punches his fists against each other. I snicker out. "Not that intimidating, you red mutt. You need to do better to scare _me_."

"Oh I know how to scare you, you little, silver pincushion." He snarls, aiming his knuckles towards my healthy eye. He cocks back for the punch, but my artificial darkness makes him miss my eye. Instead, the knuckles puncture my arm. I scream in pain, instinctively kicking Knuckles' chest. He stumbles back. I struggle to stand, thanks to my throbbing and bleeding arm. Knuckles takes this opportunity to grab my neck and knock my head against the metal wall. My vision instantly begins to spin, but in a last attempt, I activate my _offensive_ aura, quickly creating a burning sensation on Knuckles' hand. He is forced to let me go. I crumble to the ground, my vision spinning faster. With a groan, my body goes limp and an instant later, I black out.

However, my hearing catches something right before my blackout. Four sentences from Sonic. I'm not sure if my mind played tricks on me, but I hope it's true.

" _They're too dangerous to keep around, Knuckles. Let's return them to Egghead._ _It's best for everyone….Even them."_


	21. The Fear of Blindness

(Luna's View)

(Eggman's Ship)

(One Hour Later)

*GASP*

My eyes snap open, along with a gasp as light, unlike previous awakenings, rips through my closed eyes. Whatever held me jerks in surprise drops me onto a metal floor. The impact stuns me for a bit, but as I quickly regain focus, I lift my head to see Infinite, his arms crossed.

"Infinite? Were…Were you carrying me?" I ask, stunned at his more affectionate act. Infinite scoffs. "What did it look like, Luna? I wouldn't let Egghead carry you." He snarls. My eyes widen. My heart begins to flutter a bit. My cheeks begin to heat up slightly. I scoff, attempting to conceal my obvious (yet _very_ unwanted) affection signs. With a shake of my head, I stand to my feet, noticing that Infinite and I are in Eggman's ship. A small gasp exits my mouth.

"Sonic…did let us go…" I whisper. Infinite chuckles evilly, catching my attention. "Why are you so surprised, Luna? He is called a "hero", isn't he?" He asks. I narrow my eyes. "What's so funny? My reaction to all this? It's not every day that a so called "hero" lets their important hostages, filled with valuable information, free without charge!" I shout. Infinite chuckles again. "I suppose so."

"What's with you and this sudden jolly mood?" I ask in a skeptical snarl, crossing my arms. "This isn't like you, and frankly, it's creeping me out." I comment. Infinite nods. "Yes. Just the way I like it." He replies, handing me a piece of bright yellow paper. "And this too. I know you'll want to fight. Just the way _we_ like it." He hums. I raise a brow as I take the yellow slip of paper. I open the paper, as it was folded and begin reading out loud.

 _Dear Luna,_

 _I am an ambassador from the nearby planet, Akar. I know you have an alliance with Infinite and Dr. Eggman, though the reason, I must say, is top secret. Anyways, I issue a challenge for you and Infinite. Come to Akar's palace. I have permission for you, Infinite and I to face off in a "no-mercy" duel. If you win, I will give you valuable information that can result in your two's conquering Akar. If_ _ **I**_ _win, however, prepare to face blindness, in the_ _ **exact**_ _same way your father did all those years ago._

 _-?_

The note glides to the ground as my body begins to tremble vigorously. Tears stream down from my working eye. Closing my eyes, the rage that was created instantly reaches maximum capacity. I unsheathe my sword and swing it in Infinite's direction. Infinite, of course, dodges. My arms are soon pinned back. My sword clatters onto the metal floor.

"Y-YOU F*CKING **IDIOT**!" I sputter in a roar. "Y-YOU ACCEPTED A BATTLE LIKE **THAT**!? A BATTLE THAT CAN RESULT IN B-BATTERY ACID BEING POURED INTO MY EYE?! YOU COMPLETELY **LOST IT** , INFINITE!" I wail out, using my rage and fear to break free of his grip. I spin around, my vision blurred by the immense amount of tears that have welled up. Infinite's eyes (both of them can be seen; I suppose Sonic and the others didn't repair the mask), widen. "Battery acid?"

"YES! MY FATHER DID IT! MY **OWN** FATHER WENT INSANE AND POURED F*CKING **BATTERY ACID** IN MY EYE!" I scream, stepping back to run. "Then how are you not dead?"

"I…I don't know! I mean, we can breathe in space! That's supposed to be impossible, so surviving battery acid so cliché NOW?!" I scream. Infinite begins to speak, but I begin to run away. I don't know exactly where in the ship I am headed, but I had to get away from Infinite. I don't want his mocking or perhaps comfort (if he's willing to that is.) All I want is to be alone.

As I reach my room, Infinite grabs me by my arms and pins me against the wall. "I…I don't want you right now! Leave me alone!" I scream. Infinite slowly shakes his head. "No. Not when you're like this, Luna. You need me and you know it." He hums calmly. I scoff, trying to up my courage. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not, Luna. I'm serious. _Dead_ serious." He replies in the same, calming voice. I shake my head. "Then why!? Why are you NOW caring about me, hu-!?" I begin, but he places his index finger on my lips, ceasing my words. "I cannot have you like this. We'll lose the battle against the ambassador and you'll have the acid poured. I can't have you blinded and scarred for life again. You need to regain your confidence."

"So it's just the battle you're concerned about!? I thought you were partly concerned about me!?" I scream. My cheeks begin to heat up again. Infinite pauses. He sighs. "Maybe. Does it matter?"

"N-No!"

"Hm…Sure. You keep thinking that." He hums, releasing me. I bite my lip. "AND YOU KEEP THINKING OF…OF…THAT I LIKE YOU! IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE, AND IT WILL **NEVER BE**! HEAR ME?! NEVER!" I scream, collapsing to my knees from the sobbing and from my legs being so weakened from my emotions. Infinite turns his head to me, staring somewhat coldly, yet somewhat softly into my eyes. He turns his back to me and walks off, leaving me pondering of what just exactly happened and how I _really_ feel.


	22. Infinite: Luna's Only Friend

(Her Room)

(Luna's View)

(One Hour Later)

" _Let it out. Just let it out sweetie."_

That's what my mother, my dead mother always used to say when I was in a deep, depressing situation. Yet, even letting my emotions bail out in sobs and screams in my room aren't helping. The image of my insane father, who grew insane after my mom's death, carrying the yellow acid in a glass cup, his eyes wild and toothy grin crept on his face glows in my mind. All the emotional pain I experienced on that day and throughout the years rocketed back at full force and I might not be able to stand this pain much longer. I don't know what's going to happen in my emotions take over my mind, but I predict it's going to either end with me passing out from the hyperventilation or blood will be shed by the anger I suppressed throughout the years.

As I lay in my bed, screaming and sobbing from the vivid memory, my cheeks, thanks to the salt in the tears, grow slightly dry, despite the moisture that is also supplied in my tears. This isn't, though, the only physical dilema that's going on. My body shakes vigorously, frightening me even more. With the sobs, my voice becomes hoarse. As I swim down in my misery, the door opens, but I don't look up.

"Luna. I never seen you like this." Dr. Eggman's voice comments sorrowfully. I do not reply. Dr. Eggman pauses for a second, but soon speaks. "Is there anything I can do? I usually don't care about people's emotions, but this is too much for even _me_ to handle." He says, walking towards me. I shake my head. "DON'T GET NEAR ME, EGGHEAD!" I roar. Dr. Eggman ignores my plea. "Luna, is there anything I can do?!" He hollers out. I pause. "...Get rid of the memory."

"What?"

"The memory. Erase it." I choke up. Dr. Eggman pauses. "No. I cannot." He mumbles. My eyes open up slightly. With a scream, I snap up into a sitting position and chuck my drenched pillow at him. He stumbles back, landing on his butt. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" He booms, standing to his feet. I clench my jaw. "I thought you were a genius!"

"I-AM! It's just there's so many complications that can result from erasing a certain memory, Luna! I'm not risking it!" He shouts. I shake my head, disappointed at his words before lying back down. Dr. Eggman's shadow soon engulfs me. "Luna. I have one last question." He asks. I hesitate, but oblige to let him asks it. He sighs. "Do you have any idea on how that ambassador who sent the letter knew about the incident with your eye?" He asks. My eyes snap open, realizing that he mentioned a great point. I shake my head. "No...But that's so...weird. I never heard of the planet Akar before."

"Did your father?" Eggman asks. I shake my head. "I don't think he ever mentioned another planet. But…"

"But what?"

"He _did_ like to hide information about his job. Perhaps...Perhaps he had connections?" I hum in a tone of questioning. Dr. Eggman shrugs his shoulders. "I wish I could affirm that, Luna, but, you know, I don't know your family and exactly what happened. So, one more thing."

"What."

"Are you going to face that ambassador?" He asks in concern. I shake my head slightly, turning onto my stomach, burying my head into the 2nd and last pillow. "I don't know, man." I reply, my voice muffled. Dr. Eggman slowly exhales a breath. "Hm...Well, I guess Infinite's going alone then." He mumbles, his footsteps returning and fading out. I sit up, questioning what Dr. Eggman mentioned. "Infinite's going?! And alone!?"

"Why yes. Is there a problem with that?" Dr. Eggman asks. I pause. "I...I don't know if it's _going_ to be a problem. I mean, if Sonic or Shadow's helpin' out, then yeah. Maybe the ambassador is too strong for him too! I just don't want to lose my only friend!" I holler. My eyes widen. I slap my hand over my mouth. Dr. Eggman grins. "So you appreciate him. Not surprised, especially after your attempt on rescuing him." He sneers before walking out of my room. I scoff, a bit ashamed at my mind exiting my mouth. My eyes soon lock onto my sword, leaving me staring at it. My body then seemingly on its own, walks to the sword and grabs the sword, clenching the hilt tightly. My jaw clenches. My eyes narrow. With a nod (under my control), I sheathe my sword, turn around and walk out of my room. I quickly search for Infinite, but instead of him, I find a note on his room's door. I pluck it off.

 _Dear Luna,_

 _If you've found this note and have decided to fight, meet me at the hatch door at 4._

 _-Infinite_

With a mighty exhale from my nose, I bolt to the hatch door, finding Infinite leaning against the hatch door. His and my eyes lock. He straightens his posture and walks to me. "So, you decided to fight, huh?" He asks. I narrow my teary eyes. "Yeah. What does it look like?!" I snarl. He doesn't respond, but then takes my hand. "Come, my 2nd. It's time to show this planet, this ambassador why to fear us...and why to fear _you_." He says, opening the hatch door, the door gently planting itself on a sandy beach. He walks me out. My cheeks begin to heat up again. I shake my head, a bit annoyed at the affection sign I'm giving off to a friend. Infinite notices, but doesn't respond. Instead, he tightens his grip on my hand.

"You ready, Luna?"

"Yes. Let's get this over with."


	23. A Powerful Host

(Sandy Beach)

(Infinite's View)

(Five Minutes Later)

"So, did you find the capital yet Infinite?" Luna asks, her arms crossed, obviously growing impatient. I, after five seconds of tapping on Dr. Eggman's virtual map on a tablet, nod. "Yes. Directly North. Should take us around 30 minutes to get to the entrance gate." I reply firmly. Slipping the tablet into the backpack Dr. Eggman provided, which is also packed with rations of food, bottled water, medical bandages and gauzes. When I first saw the contents, my anger began to rise. I mean, does Dr. Eggman seriously think I'll lose again?

With the backpack slung onto my back, Luna and I begin our trek through a dense forest from the sandy beach's edge. Luna, as we begin, glances back at the gentle waves. She lets out a heavy sigh. I glance a her, pondering on what is bothering her. Luna, then, answers.

"I kind of wish we could battle here." She mumbles as we trek up the hill that leads into the forest. I raise a brow under my mask. She continues to explain that she, thanks to her powers being incorporated with the moon, can control tides. I, under my mask, creep up a small, gentle smile as I look at her as she smiles at me.

We then enter the calm forest. The birds chirp sweetly, as if those creatures are welcoming us warmly. The sun shines through the gaps between the trees, causing me to smile. Yet, a frown then comes. I stop in my tracks, staring through the top of the trees. Luna raises one of her brows. "Uh...Infinite? What's goin' on _now_?" She asks, turning to me. I lower my head, and then sigh. "...Nothing." I mumble. Luna frowns, crossing her arms. "Don't lie to me, Infinite. Tell me what's on your mind. I might be able to help." She replies firmly. I, after a couple seconds of hesitation, sigh out.

"...Fine. I don't know why, but this forest...this forest...is changing me a bit. It's so...peaceful, and for some reason...I like it." I hum. Luna pauses. "Is that a problem? I don't see why feeling at peace would be troubling to you Infinite." She comments. I shake my head. "Yes. I see your view on this, but I guess it's because I never wanted peace of Mobius or in any other world."

"Never wanted peace?"

"Yes."

"What does _that_ mean?" She asks. I slightly lift my head, a smile under my mask. "I must have not told you the day I first held the Phantom Ruby." I hum. "See, the Phantom Ruby has the capability to show the holder their deep wishes. Mine happened to be a desolate world where people are troubled daily. I suppose it's because I wanted the rest of Mobius to learn how my life was the "hard way." I explain. "I _was_ a mercenary after all and I _did_ lose my closest friends to Shadow. You know...the Jackal Squad." I huff out. I didn't want to speak of my deceased squad again. I deeply miss their company, but never wanted to admit it. It would make me look weak. Luna looks away for a second, and then turns back to me. "I...I sort of don't understand though why you want to put _everyone_ into a state of trouble. I mean, the innocent that did nothing to you or me? Isn't that really, _really_ wrong to you?" She asks. I shake my head. "No. It's not. No one is _truly_ innocent."

"...I suppose. I was just thinking about the children."

"Yes. Well, let's not go too deep into this topic. We have a job to finish." I hum, waving her on. She nods with a slight grin. With that, we trek on, cutting down branches that stand in our way and after 25 minutes, we reach the capital's limestone walls. Two hedgehogs, covered in golden/silver colored, Spartan armor, are posted, one on each side of the rosewood gate. Luna steps up and hands them the letter she received. After examining the letter, the guards open the gate.

"The ambassador will meet you at his house. Near the castle of our king. I will lead you there." The red hedgehog announces. Luna and I, without a word to each other, follow the guard to the house. At the door is a rusty red cat with two guards, in knighted armor, waiting for us. The guard of the gate soon leaves. The cat smiles and walks to us.

"I see you got my message, Luna. Infinite." He hums, nodding to both of us. Luna frowns. "And you really think you'll defeat us in a battle? Isn't that risky?" Luna asks. The cat shakes his head. "No. Anymore questions?" He hums out. Luna nods. "How do you know me? I never met you before nor heard of this planet in my lifetime." Luna scowls. The cat chuckles and snaps his fingers. The guards, who moved behind us without us noticing, pins our arms back. I spin them off and unsheathe my sword, but one of the guards, with their staff, sweeps me off my feet. Luna manages to free herself and unsheathe her sword. The 2nd guard and Luna engage in a fight. I, as I sit up, am grabbed by the cat. He slips out a Chaos Emerald and with a grin, whispers something. The next thing I knew, I am now in a large, gray room with a table in its center. Sitting on the table is a jar with a dark purple mist inside. The cat grabs me by my neck and chucks me onto the table. I leap off the table, but the cat grabs my arm and slams it on the table. A metal restraint clamps around my wrist. Soon the cat positions me on the table, letting the other metal restraints clamp my other wrist and both ankles.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"You'll see soon enough, Infinite."

"Who are you?!"

"Call me Rust." He hums, opening the jar. The mist spirals out. Rust rips my mask off of my face and grins. "I hope you like being possessed, Infinite. Especially by my former guard." He hums. The mist then enters my eyes. My vision begins to spin and my head begins to pulse. A whisper enters my ears.

 _Finally...A powerful host...It's finally time to be alive once again...Farewell Infinite._

And with that said, I black out.


	24. The Unexpected Reunion

(Luna's View)

(45 Minutes Later)

(Personal Prison of Rust)

"GET YOUR SILVER ASS IN THERE!" One of the ambassador's guards, holding a slightly bloody staff, topped with an orb, embedded with spikes of metal, shouts, chucking me into a cell. I hiss in pain as my punctured arm nails the back of the cell. The guard slams the moldy, black, metal cell door shut, locking it. I scoff happily.

"You really think _that'll_ stop me!?" I holler out, adjusting myself into a sitting position with only my legs, thanks for my wrists being cuffed. The guard turns around with a glare from his blue tinted eyepiece. "That doesn't concern me child. The guards have the potential to kill you within seconds." He replies firmly. I scoff happily once again. "You really sure 'bout that?" I ask him in a sneer. The guard narrows his eyes even more. "Do not threaten me."

"I'm not scared of you. Now, why _exactly_ am I here?" I ask. The guard chuckles evilly. "That's none of your business. However, since I'm the most benevolent guard that protects Sir Rust, I'll inform you. You and he will have a _delightful_ conversation."

With that said, he walks away without any words out of his metal, masked mouth. I bite my bleeding lip, hissing when my teeth presses against a lip wound. Spitting the blood out of my mouth, I lean back onto the wall and within a second, lean out as I feel something slimy. I turn around to see mold.

"Awww! Gross!" I scowl, peering at my now soaked shirt. I scoff. "This is ridiculous! Who in their right mind grows MOLD in their cell!? People DIE from mold!" I shout, looking at the mold. An evil chuckle answers my rhetorical question. I snap around to see Rust grinning at me. He kneels on both knees for our eyes to lock on even level. I narrow my eyes. "You must be Rust."

"Yes. And you're Luna. You surprised I know your name?" He hums. I scoff, rolling my eyes. "No. You sent me that threat note, didn't you? It clearly said my name." I scowl back. "Don't think I'm an idiot, Rust. You don't know the extent of my powers." I threaten. Rust chuckles. "You're damn right, but didn't my guards beat you?"

"It was an unfair fight! Your stupid guards shot light into my eye!" I scream. Rust's chuckle turns into a laugh. "And I thought a fighter like you _clearly_ understood that fights are never fair!" He laughs, standing to his feet. I scoff with a smile. "What about enforced fair fights? You know, like boxing, sparring, fencing, wrestling-." I list out until he kicks my cell wall, his brown boot having metal inside of it, causing the cell pillars to ring out. "DON'T MOCK ME OR YOUR **MOTHER** WILL **DIE**!" He roars, unsheathing a dagger. My eyes widen. "My…My mom?! She's dead! You cannot trick me!"

"Trick you? I'm not that idiotic, Luna. I saved your mother's life from that crash. I have her in the king's palace. And don't worry; she's safe…for now at least." He hums, walking off with a grin on his face. I leap to my feet, somehow landing on them perfectly without a loss of balance. "HOW DID YOU SAVE HER!?" I roar. Rust ignores me, as expected. I clench my jaw. "Okay…you asked for it mister." I scowl, closing my eyes. I activate my artificial mist before activating my offensive aura. The aura's heat to the metal begins melt the cuffs.

CRACK!

With a mighty pull against the cuffs, the chain that locks them together shatters. The sound echoes through the prison, alerting the guards to come towards me. I bust through the cell wall with my offensive aura's strength. Quickly grabbing one of the cell wall's pillars, I dash straight towards Rust until something collides onto my back. The impact dazes me a bit, causing my control over my mist to fade away. Crumbling near the feet of Rust, I look up to see Infinite glaring at me, his eyes dark violet.

"Infinite…What…WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU!?" I scream out, standing to my feet. Infinite grabs me by my neck, pulling me in. "Sir Rust revived me, child." Infinite hums, throwing me against a wall. I shake my head, lifting my head to him as he towers over me. Tears begin to shed. Infinite's eyes widen for a brief moment, and then narrow. Rust grins and turns to me. "I am impressed you escaped so easily, Luna. I can see why your mother praised you to me when I began to talk to her again."

"Talk? Again!?"

Rust chuckles. "Didn't she ever tell you that I was her first boyfriend?" He hums, turning around to walk off. I scramble to my feet. Infinite changes his stance. Rust lifts his hand. "At ease. Farewell, Luna. Guard, make sure she doesn't come after me."

"Yes sir."

Rust walks off, locking the large, wooden double doors behind him. Infinite, as I stand to my feet, tosses me my sword before unsheathing his. Spinning my sword, I put it directly in front of my face. I shake my head. "You don't have to do this, Infinite! I understand you're possessed my friend, but-."

"I am NOT going to disobey my master! There is no need to try to convince me otherwise! NOW FIGHT! FIGHT LIKE A WARRIOR!" He roars, leaping towards me. I dodge his attack, activating my artificial darkness. Activating my offensive aura, I bust through the wooden door, only to find Rust having my mother, my blue quilled mother in an elaborate, red dress (probably provided by Rust) pinned back, a dagger to her throat. In shock, I hesitate, letting Infinite pin my arms back. I try to squirm out, but my mother's voice stops me.

"Honey…I'm sorry to put you in this situation. I've missed you _so_ much." She sputters out. She continues. "Rust told me what your father did to you…and how you survived throughout the years. I'm _so, SO_ sorry, Luna."

"I'm sorry too, Mom. Being evil and all that. After everything that happened…It was only natural." I sputter out. Mom nods with a gentle smile. Rust brings the dagger closer to her neck with a jerk, turning her facial expression into a face of fear. "ENOUGH TALK YOU TWO! IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO FIGHT!"

"Fight?" Mom asks. Rust scoffs. "Yes, my old love. You're going to my new guard along with your daughter, and don't expect for you to live, _either_ of you. It's time for you two to meet your old family member in hell."


	25. Running Away

(Luna's View)

(3 Seconds Later)

(In Infinite's Grasp)

"You're wrong, Rust. Mom's not going to fight me. She won't even help with the fight either." I scowl. Rust chuckles. "Why not? I suppose you have a deal to offer me?" He asks, jerking his dagger closer to Mom's neck, only millimeters away from her throat. I smirk, exhaling a quick, forceful breath out of my nose. "Sure I do. And it's an old classic one. If _I_ win, you release my mother. If _Infinite_ wins, count me in to be your faithful guard." I hum. Rust shakes his head. "You would never be faithful."

"You're so right." I hum with a grin. Right after those words are said, I elbow Infinite in the stomach. He stumbles back, dropping his sword onto the ground. I take the opportunity to spin kick him on his head, but he arches his back backwards, successfully dodging my attack. Landing on my feet, I unsheathe my sword. Infinite kicks his sword up with his foot before leaping towards me. Changing into a defensive stance, I block Infinite's swing. The stance change prevented me to fall down. Instead, with my feet dug into the dirt, my feet skid backwards.

"You're tougher than I thought, child." Infinite hums sweetly. "I guess my host's mind was right."

"You can see Infinite's thoughts?!" I shout, pushing Infinite back. Infinite skids back, giving me a single nod. "Yes, I can. He sure has thoughts about you." Infinite hums again, but in a disgusted voice. "I don't understand why my host would like such a girl like you, being so emotional and all."

"EMOTIONAL!? DON'T YOU **SEE** WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!?" I scream, leaping towards him. Infinite chuckles, tosses his sword aside before locking into what used to be the Phantom Ruby's power. With his super speed activated, he spins behind me, kicks me on the back. As I fly to the right, he greets me with a slug to my right cheek. My momentum shifts to the left once again. Then he appears above me, Spin attacking me onto the ground. My blue shirt is cut. My chest bleeds somewhat heavily due to a deep gash he shredded into my chest. With all the pain I have to endure, I hiss and clutch my bleeding chest, turning onto my side. The blood oozes into the glove, soaking it. Infinite soon towers over me.

"Look at me." He orders firmly. I shake my head, tears of pain, anguish from knowing that Infinite's going through pain, along with sadness and guilt that I cannot do anything about it. "No…I…I can't…" I choke up. Infinite kicks me onto my back. Holding both swords, he points it to my chest. "Any last words, child?" He hums evilly. I nod, narrowing my eyes, my anger towards Rust upping my courage. The anger seems to heat up my veins. With tears streaming down my face, the anger unleashes, but not in a physical way, like usual.

It unleashes verbally.

"I **HATE** YOU INFINITE!" I boom. Infinite steps back, either from the real Infinite being stunned or the phony Infinite surprised at the sheer power of my voice. Snapping up into a sitting position (along with a scream of utter pain), I begin balling my eyes out, yet being able to say my words clearly.

"Infinite…You treated me _so_ , so well back at Egghead's ship…but look at you now. This freak has controlled you just for his selfish wishes, and this Infinite, this _phony, puppet_ type of Infinite I'm looking upon…He's weak. I never thought my Infinite could be so weak to be controlled and listen to such a man, but here he is." I snarl. Infinite's purple eyes, for a couple of rounds, flashes back to his original colors. Yet, it returns to the purple eyes of possession. I shake my head. "I know you're in there, Infinite. _My_ Infinite, the one who is so strong, sweet, yet fierce and determined, still lies in there. Now, if you truly care about me, _my_ Infinite, your better break free." I scowl.

Infinite then freezes in place. Rust, Mom and I raise our brows. A couple grunts soon pierce the quiet. Infinite clutches his mask, his knees soon buckling under him. His grunts soon morphs into roars of pain.

"YOU UNFAITHFUL SERVANT!" Rust roars. Infinite turns to his "master." "Master…Give me a chance." He chokes up, his eyes flashing more frequently. Rust tosses his dagger away from him, grabs Mom by her arms and pins her back. "Kill her."

"NO!" I boom, leaping to my feet, despite the nearly unbearable pain seemingly shredded my stomach. Infinite shoves me down and kicks up his sword into his hand. Mom is shoved into his line of fire. I sit up only for blood to spatter onto my face. Mom crumbles onto the ground, her chest, and her heart, sliced. Infinite collapses soon after.

"Wha…No…NO!" I boom, leaping to my feet once again. Snatching my sword from the grass, I charge at Rust. Rust takes his own sword and attempts to block my attack, but I leap over him, to his surprise, spin on one of my heels and slice him into two. More blood splatters onto my face. As I stand in pools of fresh, crimson red blood, my hand drops my sword, the vigorous shaking of my body responsible for it. I slowly turn to Infinite, who's motionless on the green grass. I bite my lip and shake my head before bolting away from the scene, from my dead mother, my questionable friend…

And from the feelings I wished never returned.


	26. In the Palace

(?)

(Infinite's View)

(4 ½ Hours Later)

 _THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP._

The beat of my throbbing headache reverberates through my ears, waking me up from being unconscious. With my head beating at a nearly unbearable intensity, I groan, rubbing my heavy eyes and attempt to sit up, but my aching back prevents me from doing so. Luckily, I can support my back to being halfway straight with my arms being planted on the soft surface I'm lying on.

With that in mind, I, with my back arched upwards as much as possible, I find myself in an infirmary room. However, _this_ infirmary room appears to be designed and furnished kind of like a master bedroom. The walls are silver with golden strips along the ceiling. A more elaborate and sophisticated medical monitor machine sits next to me, the usual electrodes attached to my bare arm. On the floor is a red, fuzzy, round rug. A flat screen TV hangs on the wall directly in front of me.

"What…What _is_ this place…?" I groan, my back plopping down onto the bed as I let my arms relax. My question might be answered since a doctor, a grayish cat to be precise, enters the room. He has a sincere, yet nervous smile on his face.

"Hello…Infinite, isn't it?" He asks, walking to the monitor. I scoff. "Yes. I suppose you never heard of me and my near-reign on Mobius?" I ask in a soft hum. The doctor nods. "Actually…yes. I was just making sure I wasn't _hallucinating_ , if you know what I mean." He replies. My eyes widen. "You…You know 'bout that?" I ask, trying to sit up. The doctor places his glove on my chest, gently pushing me down on the bed. "Relax. Your body definitely needs it. And about your old ability to create illusions? Absolutely. Us royal doctors received the information from…Eggman? Is that his name?" He asks in a confused, highly inflected hum while he taps on the monitor's keyboard, seeming to record information about my current state.

"Eggman?! He gave you all my medical information?!" I shout, snapping up into a sitting position (not without a howl of pain of course.) The doctor scoffs. "Infinite, please. Relax." He huffs out, turning to me. I scoff back. "How CAN I if Eggman gave complete strangers to us MY medical info?!" I boom out. The doctor shakes his head, seeming a bit disappointed. "Infinite. Don't label us as _strangers_. Yes we just met, but we're the royal family's _doctors_. We _know_ how to take care of people."

"Royal? Are you actually considering me a true royalty?" I ask with a small grin on my face. The doctor raises a black brow. "Considering? Why should I consider a murderer as royalty?" He asks. I frown. "I took over a forest planet's capital. I'm their king." I scowl. I narrow my eyes. "So…what am _I_ doing in this infirmary room? Did the spirit finally leave?" I ask. The doctor turns to me, plucking off the electrodes. "Yes. Your friend did most of the work though." He replies calmly.

 _Luna_.

"Where is she?!" I ask firmly, staring at the doctor's eyes, which happen to be back on the monitor. He, without locking eyes upon mine, shakes his head. "Not sure. She left after-." He begins, but the stalls. I turn my body so my bare feet are over the edge of the bed. "After what, doctor. What did that cat or I _do_ to her." I ask. He shakes his head. "The king himself will explain the whole situation."

"The king?! Why would _he_ want _me_ in his palace?!" I shout out. A chuckle comes from behind me. The doctor and I turn around to see a red fox in purple gowns and a golden crown at the now opened, glass door. Two royal guards stand beside him. He smiles.

"I believe _I_ can answer that." He chuckles, walking to me. "You must be Infinite." He hums, standing at the dark oak end posts of the bed. I scoff. "Yeah. I am. Where's Luna? What did I _do_ to her?!" I shout, turning my body towards the king. The king's eyes sink. "We…We don't know. We haven't seen her since…"

"Since what."

"Since the spirit that possessed you forced you to kill Luna's mother." He sighs. A small gasp exits my mouth. "I…I _killed_ her mom? Then why am I NOT in prison?! I thought this wouldn't go unpunished and-!" I begin, but the king places his hand on my shoulder. "No. Rust's guards explained everything that happened. It wasn't your fault that you were possessed, thus it wasn't your fault that you HAD to kill Penelope."

"Where's is he."

"Rust? Oh. Your friend killed him before running off somewhere. It's been around 5 hours since the whole incident ended." He says, pulling his hand back to his side. "Now, I suppose you plan on finding her?" He asks. I nod. "If I can leave now, that is. I need to see if…if she's alright." I whisper. I never liked checking on upset people before, but Luna…I'm not sure if I can take another moment of her being upset, especially after what happened. The king turns his head to the doctor, who nods. I stand to my slightly weaker legs and grab my mask and sword, which were under the bed. The king, as I begin to walk out, catches up to me.

"Infinite, would you like two of my guards to help find your friend?" He asks. I shake my head. "No. Luna, hopefully, wants _me_ right now, and that's what I'll deliver to her." I reply, my voice now deeper thanks to my mask. I turn my head to the king. "You have my thanks. Farewell, your majesty. Until we meet again."


	27. Infinite Unmasked

(Luna's View)

(One Hour Later)

(One Mile Outside the Capital's Walls; Entrance of a Forest)

" _F.E.A.R. has two meanings: Fear everything and Run or Face Everything and Rise."_

This quote has always been one of my favorites ever since I first read it, but now, it's bringing me down. Just the thought of me not being able to "Face everything and Rise", the thought that I'm too vulnerable and helpless to do so aggravates me...but how can I rise? My best friend unwillingly killed my mother. Even worse, I don't know if he'll come and comfort me or believe that I need to be alone to gather my thoughts, to process the whole incident clearly in my head. Personally…

I want Infinite now. I want him to comfort me. I know he likes me and does have the capability, and even perhaps the heart, to calm me and _want_ me to be happy again, but after all he did to Mobius...a part of me isn't sure. I mean, he killed innocent lives, not experiencing ANY remorse for his actions, yet he cares about _me_ , and _only_ me. So…why _me_ out of all people?

All of this races through my mind as I dash towards a thin forest, the trees' leaves bright green. As I arrive to the treeline, my legs immediately begin to ache. I didn't feel the pain until now. My emotional pain seemed to override my physical pain. With heavy breaths, I make my way to a large rock with the peak only a foot above the ground and sit on it, staring at the blurry (thanks to the amount of tears somehow still welled up in my eyes) forest floor. Wiping my soaked cheeks, I catch my breath, not without coughing from the amount of air I forced into my lungs along the way. For a moment, it seemed, my mind was cleared from everything until a doe and its youngling passes by. An image of my mother smiling flashes in my mind. Tears flood down my cheeks once more. I don't think I'll _ever_ understand why Rust did what he did nor why Infinite couldn't break out of his possession in time. Let's just hope this incident, from the pure horror it let out, is suppressed by my own mind for me to never remember it again.

Staring at the forest floor, I watch ants pass through until a crack of a branch startles me. I whip my head up to see Infinite, in his mask, holding my sword. I turn my head away. I couldn't bear to look at him, and it's not because of what he did. Instead, it was that I was too _ashamed_ to be the trouble he's going through.

"Luna…I…" He begins, but I sob comes out. He pauses, probably staring at my sorrow. He walks to the rock and sits by me. He places my sword on my lap. "You...You forgot this." He hums as calmly as possible. "T-Thanks…" I mumble back, biting my lip. Another pause comes until a small gasp comes out of my mouth when Infinite wraps his hand around mine. Tears begin to fall, as well as the usual blushing. At that instant, my head, seemingly all by itself, turns to Infinite. "I...I didn't know you'd show your soft side to me, Infinite." I choke up. Infinite turns his head slightly, confused. "Soft side?"

"Y-Yeah. Being a villain and all, don't you think taking someone's hand with romance in your mind is a little soft? And I swore you'd never do that since love would make you look...weak." I mumble. Infinite turns his head away. "Who said it was for love's sake. I just did to to comfort you, Luna."

"...Oh." I sputter out. Infinite soon lets out a heavy sigh and turns his whole body to me, placing his other hand on my one hand. He lowers his head for a second and then looks back up at me.

"Luna…" He begins. "I don't know if I deserve to be your commander, but I have something to say, so hear me out. If...If I could spare your mother's life...If...If I could trade her life for mine...I think I would, and she'd be standing with you and comforting you right now. And...And I don't know the feeling of this challenge you're facing...again, and I know you cannot replace what you now lost...and you need time…" He whispers. A chuckle then comes out of his mouth. "But I'm not afraid. I know you. You'll be fine." He hums, standing up. All I could do is stare at him, dumbfounded at his words. "You...You care about me…"

"Of course I do. And...And there's _one more thing_ I need to do." He says, hopping off the rock before walking in front of me. I lift my head, staring into his two eyes. He slowly closes them before doing something I never thought could happen.

He presses his hands against the sides of his mask and slips it off, revealing his "unsightly face." My mouth slightly gapes. My eyes widen. His face is black, just like his body's fur. I figured that, but I never knew he had a white scar crossing diagonally through his left eye. Infinite, after a long moment, kneels on one knee, takes my right, shaking hand and kisses the back of it.

"Infinite...What...What _happened_ to you?!" I gasp, my breathing slowing down. He gives me a smile. "You changed me, Luna. You made me feel something I never felt in so long." He murmurs. "Peace."

"My god…" I choke up, Infinite chuckles softly. "Yes. I'm at peace, but I am in love with you more than anything else, Luna." He hums, standing to his feet. He extends his hand. "So...shall we head back?" He asks. I smile and take his hand, pulling myself up. Without hesitation, I embrace him. He stalls, surprised at my sudden affectionate move. He then hugs me back. I grin. "I know you want to say it. Just say it already."

"Okay fine...I love you, Luna."

"I...I love you too, Infinite."

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: WOW, I'VE BEEN WANTING TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER FOR SOOO LONG NOW! ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE BEEN LIKING THE STORY SO FAR! THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SAY IS THAT SOME OF THE WORDS THAT INFINITE SAID TO LUNA IS FROM A** _HAMILTON_ **SONG CALLED** _It's Quiet Uptown_ **. I DO** NOT **OWN** _HAMILTON_ **NOR DO I DESIRE TO. ALL WRITES GO TO LIN-** **MANUEL** **MIRANDA! HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERYONE!**


	28. A Peaceful Life

(Infinite's View)

(In Space Away from Any Planet)

(Back on Eggman's Ship; Two Weeks Later)

"You're WHAT?!" Dr. Eggman shouts in surprise. I grin as I have my arm around Luna. I nod, turning my head to Luna, who's blushing at the thought of our decision. "That's right, Doctor. Luna and I are officially dating." I hum. Dr. Eggman pauses, places his hand on his forehead and grunts. "This shouldn't be happening, you two. Not after all the shit that you went through down there." He grumbles. I nod. "Yes, doctor, but it's the least I could do after what I did to her." I reply, looking at Luna to make sure my mentioning of the whole "murder incident" isn't affecting her. Luna gives me a sincere smile. "Don't worry, Infinite. I'm fine."

"How did you-?"

"Your eyes. They're nervous." She hums. My eyes sink in affection. Dr. Eggman coughs to grab our attention. We turn to him, finding him with his arms crossed. "I don't like this. You guys now have a softer heart." He snarls. "That better not get in the way of our conquest of the galaxy." He scowls. I bite my lip. "Yeah...about that…" I murmur under my breath. This catches Luna's and especially Dr. Eggman's attention. Narrowing his brows, he towers over me and Luna. Luna narrows her own eyes. "

What do you mean by "Yeah...about that"! Are you saying that you're NOT conquering the galaxy with me!?" He roars. I hesitate, but nod "Yes. That's what I mean." I sigh. Dr. Eggman pauses, but then answers my statement with a slug to the nose. I howl out in surprise and stumble back. Eggman quickly equips a glove onto his hand, which begins to steam out a green mist, aiming the circular, glowing, mechanical center towards my chest.

"What-happened to you." He scowls, walking towards me. Luna stands in front of me, arms extended. "Eggman! I am stunned too, but let the jackal speak!" She roars. I place my hand on Luna's shoulder. "Luna. Please. Let me handle this." I whisper, pushing her aside. "Eggman. I _killed_ Luna's mother. I _saw_ the _pain_ she went through. I am NOT letting her feel that pain again!" I scowl. Dr. Eggman doesn't reply, but instead blasts a green energy bolt at us. Luna and I dive in opposite directions. I unsheathe my sword, but Luna doesn't stand up. She's frozen in a sitting position, a bit dumbfounded at my commitment towards her. Eggman continues firing at me, but I block the energy bolts with my sword. Eggman soon leaves an opening, letting me kick him in the chest. He falls onto the ground. Standing over him, I point my sword to his throat.

"Dr. Eggman. All I want now is to live a peaceful life. I don't care if you conquer others. I don't care if you create many Eggman Empires. I want to live in peace. It's something I never had, and now that I feel at peace, and I want to keep it that way." I state firmly. Eggman glares at me, and then Luna, and with a sigh, sits up. "I'll make you a deal, Infinite. After you help me destroy the Blue Typhoon AND give the forest planet to take over, I'll leave you on Akar to live happily ever after." He says. I ponder over this for a bit, that is until Luna places her hand on my shoulder. "I think it's a good plan, but what IF, and I said IF, we break up or somethin' Infinite. We'll be stuck on Akar forever!" She stutters. I lower my head a bit, nod a couple times before looking at Eggman.

"It's a deal. When will we begin?" I ask, sheathing my sword. Eggman stands to his feet, brushing off some dust from his clothes. "As soon as we detect the Typhoon. Now, I believe I should create a plan of attack. Be prepared to fight." He says, turning his backs to us. Luna gapes slightly. "Excuse me?! You're not lettin' us!?" She shouts. "Your plans ALWAYS fail! You know that you need OUR help to have a chance to take down Sonic and the others!" She hollers. He turns his head to us. "I am the captain of this ship. I make the plans. End of conversation." He scowls before walking off. Luna clenches her jaw. "Okay. That's it."

"That's it's what?" I ask, turning to her. Luna, gathering her thoughts, sighs. "I don't know how much longer I can take Eggman's ignorance, Infinite. I don't know where to go if we leave the doctor. I mean, we _could_ join Sonic, but Shadow's with them and I don't want to join them from the start." Luna grunts. I shake my head. "And they won't ever trust us either...Luna, let's just see what Eggman's plan is. We'll discuss things from there."


	29. The Plan: Betrayal

(Infinite's View)

(One Hour Later)

(Eggman's Ship; Computer Room)

"Is _killing_ Sonic the best idea, Doctor?" Luna asks, crossing her arms as Dr. Eggman finishes explaining his plan. Dr. Eggman frowns. "Are you saying that I shouldn't eliminate my greatest threat, Luna?" He scowls, walking to her. Luna nods. "Yes. Actually I am." She replies. Dr. Eggman clenches his jaw. "You're kidding. Luna, I _swore_ you'd love this opportunity! Especially after they took your boyfriend hostage!" He snaps back. Luna shows an angered frown. "Maybe I would back then, Doctor, but after all the pain I went through and knowing that I can deal that same type of _unbearable_ pain to others...I don't know if I really desire that anymore." She replies, soon taking my hand. Dr. Eggman's eyes snap open, seeming to be lit ablaze from Luna's comments. Dr. Eggman, with his energy blast glove on, aims it at Luna, but I step in front of Luna.

"Infinite, I don't want to hurt you."

"You'd hurt me if you hurt Luna, Doctor. Vice versa is also true."

"Then why protect Luna if that would hurt her?" Eggman sneers. I crack a smile. "Because I know she can handle pain. I've seen it before. Now, Doctor, let me and Luna discuss our opinion with your plan in private. We'll get back to you soon. Is that fair?" I ask him. Eggman exhales a quick, annoyed breath out of his nose. "Fine. But don't take too long." He scowls, turning his back to us, typing away on his battle monitor. I pull Luna outside the computer room, beginning to walk with her towards our rooms. Luna bites her lip.

"Infinite...I know you hate Sonic with a passion. I mean, he sent you into a freakin' _generator_! But...I don't know if he deserves to die..." She murmurs. I nod. "Cause he never did anything to you, so I presume that's why." I reply. She nods a couple times. "Yes...Precisely, Infinite. I mean, he _did_ save Mobius from your wrath, which you don't have much of a will to unleash that anymore...and maybe we could redeem ourselves. But…"

"But what?"

"I don't know if we should even _try_ to join Sonic. He would never trust us, especially _you_. And if Dr. Eggman realizes our potential plan to betray him, he'll be after us until he KILLS us!" She shouts a bit too loudly. She slaps her hand over her mouth. I unsheathe my sword, preparing for any of his robots to attack us, but none come. With a sigh, I sheathe my sword, yet still having my hand on the hilt of it, ready for any surprise attacks. She looks into my eyes. "What do you think, Infinite?"

"I...I'm not sure, to be completely honest." I reply softly, clutching my chest fur, the fur that replaced the location of the Phantom Ruby. I bite my lip, remembering the feeling of the ruby, the power that resided in it. However, that brings my mind to the fright I witnessed, and previously liked, in the war. A single tear sheds. With a large sigh and a shake of my head, I take Luna's hand, staring my shaky eyes into hers. "You know what I want to do now, but I don't know if we should. You know, with Sonic." I whisper. She giggles lightly and brings her lips to my ear and whispers. "Yes. I do. Now let's help out that blue sewer rat, shall we?" She whispers. I nod and gently push her away. Running my hand through my white dreads, I bite my lip. "But how are we going to make sure he knows we _want_ to join him?" I ask. Luna grins and opens her mouth to tell me her idea, but Dr. Eggman roars out. Both Luna and I unsheathe our swords, waiting for Eggman to come out. However, only cussing words comes out. We both sheathe our swords and walk into his computer room to find him typing vigorously on his keyboard.

"Umm…? Dr. Eggman?" Luna asks, looking at the undecipherable coding on the monitor. "Did you get a virus?"

"WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?! THAT STUPID, MUTATED FOX DID ALL THIS!" Eggman roars, grabbing his tumbler cup and chucking it against the wall. Luna winces at the crash. She then cracks a small, toothy grin and winks at me. "Let me take care of this, love." She whispers before coughing to catch Eggman's attention. Eggman narrows his eyes at her. "What now. Don't you see that I'm-?!"

"Pissed off? Yep. But, I thought Infinite and I can help you out, Doctor." She hums. Eggman raises a brow. "And how so?"

"We can infiltrate the Blue Typhoon and destroy the main computer. That should take away whatever's corrupting your computer, right Doctor?" She asks in an evil hum. Eggman raises his other brow, and then grins. "Yes…Very well. You guys can go. Do you want any robots to come along?" He asks. Luna shakes her head. "Not this time, Doctor. I want to settle the score with Infinite and only Infinite." She hums, taking my hand. "Now, we'll be on our way."

With that said, we walk out of the computer room. As we reach our starfighters in the dock of the ship, I look at Luna with shocked eyes. "How did you fake that so well?! You weren't nervous at all!" I ask loudly. She giggles. "Maybe because I had to do it when I was younger, you know, to survive in the streets and all?" She sighs, her eyes sulking slightly with sorrow. I place my hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine, besides…You have me."

"S-Shut up!" She laughs nervously, her cheeks blushing bright red. I chuckle, take her chin and turn her head to me. "And you'll have this in the back of your mind throughout our mission too." I hum, placing my hand on her cheek before leaning in quickly for a kiss. Luna's eyes snap open, but soon close as we kiss for a couple, long, satisfying seconds, until Eggman's voice comes from the intercom, yelling for us to move. Luna and I look to the camera. I raise my hand up, but Luna takes my hand. "No flippin' him off. You don't know how mad he is right now."

"Hmph. Fine. I just don't like him interrupting us."

"Neither do I, but he won't ever do it again after this. Now, like he said, let's move."


	30. An Unusual Emergency

(Sonic's View)

(15 Minutes Later)

(Blue Typhoon; Cockpit)

"Tails! What's the emergency!?" I holler out as I bolt into the cockpit with the others trailing close behind me preceding an intercom message from Tails, announcing what he called an "unusual and skeptical emergency." We, as we all come together, find Tails having a message on his green, holographic board. Tails pauses, quickly causing me to be concerned. He soon turns to us, and to everyone's shock, is smiling.

"Tails, I thought this was an _emergency_! No emergency can be positive, can it? I hope this isn't a waste of our time!" Amy scowls. I shake my head. "Ames. Tails' work will _never_ be a waste of time, especially when we're involved in it." I hum in attempts to reassure her. She sighs. "I hope you're right." She whispers back, walking closer to the holographic board. The rest of us soon follow her lead. Tails places his hands on the keyboard, quickly tapping a few buttons, causing the message to become larger. Knuckles scoffs a couple seconds later, turns around and begins to walk away, clearly upset about something.

"Dude! Knux! What's the matter man?!" I holler out. Knuckles snaps his head to me. "The letter is from Dr. Eggman! Nothing good can come from him!" He roars, turning back around, taking another step towards the door that is until Tails chimes in. "It's not from him, actually. It's from the other two."

"And why should we trust those two, Tails? They're just as evil as he is." Knuckles growls again, turning around to face us. Tails nods. "Yes, perhaps. However, this letter, if it's actually what they mean, might make your reconsider." He replies. Knuckles narrows his eyes, crosses his arms and walks back to the group, skeptical on what Tails informed him. However, as Tails and Knuckles conversed, I began reading the message, making it two the fourth line. With a grin, I nudge Knuckles on his shoulder. Knuckles snaps his head to me. "What was that about?!" He roars. I hold up my hand to his face. He thrusts it down. "Don't do that! Now, what was that about!?"

"The message."

"What about it?!"

"I want you to read it aloud for us."

"Why?!"

"So I can see your reaction after finishing it. Come on Knucklehead, it's not _that_ hard to read, right?" I hum, nudging his shoulder again. Knuckles scoffs, exhaling a quick breath out of his nose. "Fine. Be that way." He scowls. With a slight lifting of his head to the holographic board, he reads the message out loud.

 _Dear Sonic and Crew,_

 _This is Infinite. I know you all hate me and Luna with a deadly passion and would love nothing more to kill both of us, but PLEASE read this letter. There's a lot to discuss if you let us into the Blue Typhoon, but both Luna and I need to confess something before Dr. Eggman realizes._

 _Luna and I have decided to betray Dr. Eggman. I understand that most of you believe that we're tricking you, but we swear ON OUR LIVES that we're not. I will explain everything if you let me land. I don't know if Luna would like to talk about it though…it's kind of about her. Anyways, please let us in. I promise you won't regret it._

 _Sincerely,_

 _-Infinite the Jackal_

 _-Luna the Hedgehog_

"…On their lives, huh?" Knuckles whispers. He then smirks. "Good thing that basically _all_ traitors say things like that." He sneers. "Too easy."

"But Knuckles, you and Sonic can beat them and they know that. Why would they risk their _lives_ to help Dr. Eggman, knowing that Eggman would lose if they lost their lives?" Amy asks. Knuckles scoffs. "Because they're aligned with him. Guys, don't fall for this. I don't want to see anyone hurt."

"Does anyone?" I reply with a smile. "Look Knux, like Ames said. We've beat them before. Besides, there's a lot more of us than them. Let's give them _one_ chance, okay?" I say, placing a hand on his shoulder. Knuckles shrugs it off. "This is going to be a mistake, guys."

"…I think it's worth a shot." Tails chimes in, walking to my side. Knuckles' eyes snap open.

"How?! Why?!"

"Because if they _are_ telling the truth, we're going to have much more power within our group AND intel on Eggman's plans. Knuckles, this is a win-win." Tails explains to Knuckles. Amy nods. "Yeah! Come on Knuckles!" She shouts out, running to my side. Cream runs to my side too. "Yeah! Please Mr. Knuckles!? Please~!?"

"No. I'm not affording to be tricked again!" Knuckles roars. I cross my arms. "But you're outnumbered, Knucklehead. Four to one." I reply firmly. Knuckles scoffs. "Four to two, actually, if you count Shadow." Knuckles snaps back, turning to us. He then jumps in surprise. I turn my head to Amy, to find her hammer wielded. Knuckles hesitates, and then gives out a reluctant sigh. "Fine. You guys win this round. But don't come cryin' to me when they betray us!" He scowls, walking off. I smirk, satisfied. I pat Amy's shoulder. "Nice job Amy."

"T-Thanks." She sputters, her cheeks blushing bright red. I smile and wink at her before heading to Tails. Tails plops down onto the captain chair and presses a button. "Infinite! Can you hear me?" Tails asks out loud. Silence answers us. Tails raises a brow. "Infinite?! Can you hear me!? It's Tails!" He hollers out. Silence follows, until three, long seconds pass. After those three seconds, Infinite's deep voice answers.

"Ah. Sorry. The intercom didn't happen to like me for a moment." He says happily. "So, did you receive the letter?" He asks. Tails smiles. "Yes we did. You're free to land." He hums out. A small, high pitched gasp soon comes.

It was Luna.

"You're lettin' us in!? Why?! I swore you wouldn't trust us!" She squeals out. I walk to Tails' side, leaning towards the microphone. "Because people deserve a second chance. Just don't blow it, okay?"

"Roger that Sonic! We're landing now! See you soon!" She squeals. A deep chuckle follows. "Yes. Thank you. I promise you won't regret this." Infinite hums, disconnecting his side of the line. Tails spins in his swirly chair. "So, shall we head over?"

"Yep little buddy! It's not polite to be late! Besides, I bet Infinite would love to have a friendly spar! Come on, let's juice and jam guys!"


	31. Trust Issues

(Infinite's View)

(10 Minutes Later)

(Blue Typhoon; Deck)

"Thanks again you guys…I don't know how to repay you all." I whisper under my breath as I, Luna, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Cream walk to the interior of the Blue Typhoon. Sonic punches me gently on the shoulder. "No problem Infinite. Just make sure not to betray us."

"Yeah. You all would slaughter us if either Luna or I did so. But, we promised with our lives that we wouldn't." I quietly reply. Knuckles scoffs, exhaling a quick breath out of his nose. "Like all future traitor say." He scowls, glaring at both me and Luna. Luna shakes her head. "Can't you forget the past Knucklehead?"

"After all the shit your boy did to us, hell no." He scowls louder. Luna sighs, running her hand through her top quill. "Yeah. Figures. But Knuckles, you have to at least trust us. Even if you lend us below one percent, we'll accept it." She says, head low. She shakes her head. "But I know that's too much to ask."

"Yeah. It is." Knuckles scowls back. We soon make it to the dorm room, where all the beds are. Sonic opens the door for me and Luna. I nod in thanks and walk inside. Luna, at this moment, releases her hand from mine before climbing onto the top bunk of the six bunk beds. I sit below hers. Knuckles leans against the pole of mine and Luna's, keeping close watch. Sonic sits down on the bottom bunk directly parallel to mine. Amy sits on the ground, near Sonic's feet. Cream sits next to Amy. Tails flies up to the top bunk, the bed above Sonic's. I take out my sword. Knuckles steps towards me. I, without looking at him, grunt and thrust my arm out. "Take it."

"What?"

"You think we're gonna attack you, right? It'll be harder to beat you if we did if I don't have my main weapon Knuckles." I grumble. Knuckles pauses. "You're givin' it to me?" He asks, taking my sword out of my hand. I nod. "Yes. Temporarily. I need it if Eggman figures out what we just did." I sigh, clasping my hands together. Silence rings. After a good, long 15 seconds, I sigh loudly. "I presume you all want to know why we even betrayed Egghead, right?"

"Yeah. That's the reason we brought you here, Infinite." Sonic replies. "Please tell us." He says. I shake my head, tears slightly forming in my eyes. "To be completely honest, I really don't want to…"

"Why? Are you too chicken to do so?" Knuckles scowls. Amy glares at him, causing him to perk up. I shake my head. "No. I don't want to bring up the whole situation that Luna and I went through. I don't want Luna to feel that pain again…" I say softly. Amy and Sonic glance at each other. "You did something to Luna?"

"Unintentionally. I was forced to. Let…Let me explain what happened…Where should I start?" I say. Luna sniffles, catching everyone's attention. I lean over and look up. Luna begins to cry, but sputters out to start when we met Rust. I nod. "Okay…I don't like you cryin'." I reply. She shakes her head. "Just tell the damn story. Get the pain over with."

"Alright." I reply once more. With a couple nods to myself, I begin the story. "Have you heard of Akar?" I ask. Sonic nods. "Yeah. That's where you were, I presume?" He asks, leaning down a bit, staring into my eyes, his hands clasped together. I sigh. "Yeah. Luna received a letter from this administrator named Rust, challenging her to a fight. He also mentioned that if she lost, she'd become blind in the same way that her father did to her eye." I say. "And that was battery acid."

"Battery acid?!" Tails hollers, leaning over the edge of the bunk bed. "Her father poured battery acid into her eye?!" He hollers. Luna sobs out. I nod. "Yes…At the time he did that, they thought her mother died. Her father went insane."

"Wow…" Amy whispers. "So, let me guess, her mother wasn't dead?" She asks. I nod. "Yeah. Rust had her mother. Apparently, her mother and Rust dated. He saved her just for them to date again against her will." I sigh, shaking my head. "We figured that out when he captured us. Rust teleported me to a chemistry room, where he released a spirit of his old guard into me. I became possessed."

"Dude…" Sonic gasps. I shake my head once more, tears welling up more in my eyes. "Yeah. Luna, when I saw her, broke the possession, but…right before…right before I broke free…I…" I choke up. "I killed her mom…I…I-I didn't mean to…" I choke up, staring into Sonic's eyes. Sonic is blurry thanks to the refraction from my tears. Cream sniffles. "That's awful."

"Yes."

"But why did Luna forgive you? Why are you dating if you killed her mama?" Cream asks. I open my mouth to answer, but Luna intercedes. "I knew he didn't mean to. He also, after he woke up, confessed he loved me. I knew he loved me, but I never expected him to confess it. I should have, considering what happened and it would have, and did, made me feel better, but after freaking _killing_ people…I didn't expect it. I forgave him, knowing that if he did speak the truth, he wouldn't let me down." Luna replies. I look up to my girlfriend. "Luna…" I choke up. Luna shows a shaky smile. "You're welcome, my love. Now," she says, looking down, her eyes locked onto Knuckles. "Now do you trust us? After everything that happened to us? After experiencing all the pain, knowing if we stayed with Eggman, we'd put that onto you guys, do you still not trust us?" She asks, hopping down. Knuckles looks away. "I don't want to, but your confession…Let's say I'm not sure anymore."

"Man, Infinite. I don't want to trust you either, but I'm givin you that second chance." Sonic hums, standing to his feet. He extends his hand. "Now, you have any idea what Eggman's gonna do?" He asks me, a grin on his face. I nod. "I heard he's making another Death Egg, but I could be wrong." I say nervously, taking Sonic's hand. "But whatever he throws at us, we'll be ready. Now, what's next?"


	32. Shadow's Confession

(Luna's View)

(Blue Typhoon)

(Three Days Later; Storage Room)

"Nice block, Infinite! You're gettin' better with sensin' me and all!" I holler out as Infinite and I spar inside the pitch black (thanks to my artificial darkness) storage room, which now also serves and my and Infinite's bedroom. Sonic and the others were (and still are) cautious about us, so they wouldn't allow us to sleep in their dorm room, so they forced us to make our room in their storage room. Knuckles, for extra precautions, locked up all the important storage containers so we wouldn't steal anything with dire importance if we would desire to do so.

"Thank you, love, but I'm just gettin' started." Infinite sneers back as we clash our swords together. I grin. "Music to my ears." I hum, sweeping him off his feet. He crashes onto the metal floor, but rolls away from my attack (it wasn't a pierce though; I have no intention to hurt Infinite anymore), flips to his feet and activates his super speed, circling around me. I, knowing he's going to attack me any second, activate my defensive aura. However, he doesn't go full force on me as I expected.

He disarms me.

Snatching my sword out of my grasp, he skids to a stop and swings at me. I swiftly dodge most of his attacks, but as I jump to dodge one, he smacks me with my own sword on my chest, sending me crashing onto the metal floor. The artificial darkness, thanks to me being dazed, fades away, revealing Infinite pointing my sword to my throat. He gently pokes it. "I win."

"Fine. Nice match." I sigh as I am pulled to my feet by Infinite. He hands me my sword, in which I snatch out of his hand and sheathe it quickly. The satisfying sound of the sword sheathing was sweet to hear once again. Infinite takes my hand and pulls me close.

"Uh…W-What are you doin'?" I stutter out, confused at his sudden, affectionate movement. He smiles. "Just wanna see my girl up close. Besides, don't you want another passionate kiss?" He hums sweetly. My heart thumps faster. My cheeks burn. He chuckles. "You look like Knuckles."

"Sh-Shut up!" I shout in a nervous giggle. He grins. "So, want the kiss or not?" He asks, placing his two fingers against my chin. I turn towards the door. "But…what if-?" I begin, but Infinite shakes his head, another chuckle coming from his mouth. "Does that matter, Luna? They know we're dating." He hums, giving me a wink. I exhale a long breath through my nose. "Alright…" I hum. Infinite soon kisses me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I close my eyes, enjoying the sweet moment that I thought I'd never have. The kissing soon ceases as we hear the metal door slam open. We jump up in surprise and snap to the entrance to find Shadow and a golden hedgehog staring at us. Shadow's eyes are narrowed. The golden hedgehog's eyes are staring at us in awe.

"YOU!" Shadow booms, tackling Infinite onto the back wall. Infinite grunts in pain. Shadow attempts to slug Infinite, but Infinite catches his two fists, pushing on them to keep those fists away. The golden hedgehog runs to Shadow, but Shadow shouts for her to stop.

"But Shadow…Didn't you hear what Sonic said 'bout them?" She whispers. Shadow scoffs. "Maria! Sonic has too big of a heart! This jackal killed so many lives! He deserves to die!" He roars. Infinite narrows his eyes. "But YOU killed my squad!" He roars. I shake my head. "Infinite! This is NOT the time to fight! I understand what Shadow did to you, okay?! But if Sonic sees that we're attacking his ally, he won't trust us!" I holler out, stepping towards Infinite and Shadow. Maria nods. "Shadow…Give them a chance. You might not regret it…Do it for me." She whispers. Shadow pauses, scoffs and steps back. "…Fine. But only _one_ chance, hear me Infinite?" He snaps. I rush to Infinite's side, helping my boyfriend up. "Yeah…I hear you Stripes."

"It's Shadow."

"I'm well aware." Infinite snaps. I shake my head. "I am NOT here to fight any of you. I would LOVE to kick your ass, Shadow, but we're on your team now and I have NO intention to betray you, Sonic and the others." I scowl. Shadow scoffs. "Sure. Keep tellin' yourself that." He scowls, taking Maria's hand. "Let's get out of here, Maria. Nothing good can come from these two." He whispers, glaring at Infinite. Infinite raises his hand, but I smack it down. "If you even DARE to flip him off, he'll slaughter you. Don't." I snap. Infinite glares at me, then sighs. "Very well." He sighs, turning towards me. The door soon opens again. Infinite unsheathes his sword, only to sheathe it back to see Maria and only Maria."

"…Maria, right?" Infinite asks. Maria nods nervously. "Yes. Maria Robotnik. I am an ancestor of Eggman. It's…It's a long story." She whispers. Infinite raises a brow. "An ancestor. Hm. Why do you like Shadow?"

"Infinite…" I whisper fiercely. Maria sighs. "It's in that story you two. I…I'm just here to ask Luna a question." She replies. I nod. "Go ahead." I whisper, pulling on my shirt collar as I am a bit nervous. "Why does Shadow hate you so much? Did you do anything to him?" She asks. I shake my head instantly. " _I_ didn't. Infinite did. I suppose since I'm aligned with him that Shadow despises me." I reply. "But…" I say, catching both Infinite's and Maria's attention. "But what?" Maria asks. I close my eyes. "Why did Shadow ambush me in the forest? That's where Infinite found me. Infinite has informed me that I was mumbling Shadow's name." I ask, stepping towards Maria. Maria shakes her head. "I…I don't know…I'm sorry."

"I'll answer it then." Shadow scowls. We all look at Shadow, who's leaning against the door post, arms crossed. He sighs. "Look, Luna. Sonic told me what happened to you with Rust, and I must admit, even though I hate to admit it, I was a fool to ambush you. It…It was Rust who told me to."

"WHAT?!"

"Hold on." Shadow sighs. "Rust told me that you had information on Maria's whereabouts. I fell for the trick and ambushed you. I became enraged when I found nothing. I never expected that Rust lied to me. He even gave me the money just for ambushing you." He informs me firmly. He turns his back to us. "So good thing you killed him."

"And good thing you ambushed me." I reply after a long hesitation. Everyone soon turns their attention to me. I shake my head. "Shadow…After all that happened, I've come to realize something. If you _didn't_ ambush me, Infinite wouldn't have heard me saying your name. I could have died, or I could have been living my life on the run after I woke up. Shadow, it's thanks to _you_ that I found my love of my life…So I thank you."

Silence follows, until Shadow grins. "Well. You're not as bad as I thought." He hums. Maria walks to him. Taking her hand, he nods. "You're welcome Luna." He hums, turning his attention to Infinite. "Yoi better keep the girl, Infinite…She's a good one."


	33. Poisoned

(Infinite's View)

(Two Days Later)

(Deck of the _Blue Typhoon_ )

The stars. The endless amount of stars, scattered throughout space, shines down on the Blue Typhoon as I sit upon the deck, staring at them. Why am I doing this? Well, I need to relax at the moment, try to rid my mind on the new setback of the mission to beat Dr. Eggman.

Luna has gone ill.

At first, everyone, including her, thought it was just the flu, but that thought changed when she randomly passed out as she and I were walking together. I sped her to Tails, who is now running some tests on her as she's now unconscious. Sonic and little Cream have been attempting to reassure me that she'll be fine, but it hasn't helped much. Something has gone awry, and I, no, _we_ need to figure what's going on before anything gets worse…or before it's too late.

As I stare among the starts, Sonic soon is standing next to me. I, surprised, jump and bit. Scrambling to my feet, I grab Sonic's shoulders. "Sonic! Is she-?!" I begin, but Sonic grabs my arm. "Infinite…I have some good and bad news. She won't die though, just to reassure you a bit." He says softly. A small gasp comes out of my mouth. I bite my lip. Sonic lowers his head and shakes it. "Infinite. We figured out why Luna fell ill."

"What is it?!"

"We found some clear, weirdo liquid coating on Luna's sword. The hilt to be exact. That liquid infected her, causing all the problems." He says, turning to the cockpit. He pulls on his glove. "But the bad news…I don't know if you're ready yet. To battle it, I mean." He whispers, taking my arm. I turn Sonic, grabbing his shoulders, pulling him in with my eyes narrowed. "What-is-happening." I reply firmly. Sonic opens his mouth to speak, but the glass window that separates space to the cockpit shatters. Sonic turns around as Luna tumbles onto the dock. I try to run to her, but Sonic blocks my path.

"Sonic!?"

"Stay here!"

"Why?!" I roar, but my anger, my rage soon turns into utter fear as Luna rises. Her left eye, her working eye, is twitching and shaking rapidly. Sonic bites his lip, slightly turning his head to me. "She's hallucinating. She thinks we're all some sort of demons or somethin'." He whispers. At that instant, Luna chucks her sword at Sonic. Sonic barely dodges it since he turned his head around right before the sword could cut his neck. I snap around to see the sword oozing out liquid, now slightly foggy, out of the hilt. I snap back around to see Sonic pinning Luna on the back of the deck.

"Get off of me demon!" She roars in a hiss. Sonic shakes his head. "You've GOT to snap out of this!" Sonic shouts back. I run to Sonic's side, staring at my girlfriend's pale face. Tears begin to stream down my face. Luna, though, has her full attention on Sonic. She, having no other choice, chomps down on Sonic's arm. Sonic shouts out, throwing Luna onto the ground. Luna struggles to stand onto her feet. Sonic prepares to tackle her, but I grab his arm. "Sonic! Please don't!"

"Why?! She's attacking us, Infinite!" He roars back, ripping his arm out of my grasp before tackling Luna, who now has her sword in her hand. Luna screams out as her head slams onto the deck, her sword clattering next to her. I grab Sonic by the waist and pull him back. "If you keep this up, she'll get concussions or somethin', worsening her condition! If you keep this up, she'll DIE!" I roar, chucking Sonic away from Luna. Sonic flips onto his feet as I pin Luna onto the floor of the deck. Luna squirms vigorously, trying to break free. I bite my lip, tears falling onto Luna's cheek. Luna cries out as if the tears are burning her. A small gasp comes out of my mouth. "Luna…Who did this…Who poisoned you…?" I whisper. Luna then chomps down on my arm, but I, unlike Sonic, keep my strength on Luna. Luna chomps down harder. Blood begins to stream down my arm. Having no other choice, I flip her over, placing both knees on her back, making it virtually impossible for her to escape.

"GUYS!" Tails shouts out from the cockpit. I turn my head to see Tails fluttering down to Sonic. Sonic and Tails soon run to me. "Infinite. Take Luna to the infirmary room. We need to restrain her."

"Why?! Can we discuss things while I have her here!?" I shout out. Tails shakes his head. "The antidote to her condition is almost complete. I'm going to give to her in the infirmary room." He replies. I turn my head slowly to Luna, who's is breathing shaky breaths, her head now on the floor, away from my slightly bleeding arm. I shake my head. "Who did this…I have to know…" I choke up.

Silence.

"I think it was Dr. Eggman."

"Of course you do." I snap back. Tails places his hand on my shoulder. "It's not because we hate him with a passion, Infinite. I've identified the poison. You kind only find it on Akar." Tails informs me. I snap my head around. "Akar? Then why not Rust?" I ask. Tails shakes his head. "This poison can only be made into a poison by grinding it from a plant only on Akar and inserting a chemical inside. One that Dr. Eggman, from what I know, has that chemical." He says. I shake my head. "Right before I was possessed though, he took me to a _chemistry_ room. Rust might have done it!" I shout back. Tails turns to Sonic, and then back to me. "Really?" He asks. I nod, turning back to the hoarse Luna, whose shaky breaths are getting heavier (which is a good thing).

"Yes…but I now that I think of it, I think you're right." I reply "Rust didn't have her sword at the time, and I don't believe that I, in my possession, would have coated a poison on Luna's sword. Besides, wouldn't we have noticed the liquid by then? It was weeks ago."

"Yes. This poison would have already poisoned Luna by then. Therefore, only Dr. Eggman remains as the culprit." Tails replies. With a sigh, I step off of the weak Luna and take her into my arms as she is weakened and dazed as if she was already unconscious. We soon arrive at the infirmary room; restrain her on the infirmary bed before turning to each other. Sonic notices my twitching eye. Sonic opens his mouth, but I turn around. "Dr. Eggman will pay for this."

"Yes. I know, but are you goin' alone?" Sonic asks. I scoff. "Yes. I thought you don't trust me completely." I scowl. Sonic nods. "Yes, but that doesn't mean I won't help you. Besides, beating Egghead is my specialty. So…when do you want to infiltrate his base?"

"I won't."

"What?"

"I predict when he _thinks_ the poison has taken effect; he'll come and try to fight us. He'll come to _us_ , Sonic. _That's_ when we'll make our move." I reply. Sonic nods. "Nice plan, bud." He hums. I raise a brow and then shake my head. "Bud…I don't deserve that."

"Maybe."

"Infinite." Tails hums, poking my shoulder as he hovers next to it. I turn to him, walking after him as he goes to the cockpit's main computer. Tails begins to type away, seeming to attempt to hack Dr. Eggman's computer. I stand at his side. "You hackin' his computer?" I ask. Tails, with a toothy grin, nods. "Yep! I predict that he has a prediction on the poison's effect, so if he does, I'm going to change the typed up amount of time. That'll give us some time to strategize a plan and let Luna recover." He hums, pressing one last button. "And that does it!"

"That was mighty fast." I hum, slapping Tails' back. "Nicely done little dude." I say with a grin. Tails nods. "Thanks. Let's just hope this works." He whispers, turning his black, leather, swirly chair towards me. I grin. "Knowing Egghead personally, there's a good chance. Maybe, like, a 75% chance. He has a good memory, but he also knows he changes stuff a lot. He might think that he changed that time at a point. But, I agree with you on hoping this works." I sigh, turning to a now unconscious Luna. "For Luna's sake."


	34. Cream Forgives

(Infinite's View)

(One Day Later)

(Outside the Infirmary Room; 9:45 P.M)

Luna's still unconscious. Luna's still suffering from Dr. Eggman's poison. With all this taken place, with all the mischief that Dr. Eggman has put on us, I have decided, despite the whole crew's beliefs not to, I have decided to slaughter Dr. Eggman. After him _using_ me to conquer Mobius, after _using_ me to kill innocent lives without remorse and after poisoning Luna in hopes to kill her, he _deserves_ to die. He deserves it more than I do. With all these wretched thoughts in my mind, it has made me sleepless. That is why I'm outside the infirmary room, trying to gather my thoughts, trying to make them go away so I don't blow up on anyone from the anger that has built within me.

With my head on the metal wall, I stare at a flickering light above me. Soon, I begin a game with it, seeing if I could time the flickering. This goes on for, maybe, 10 minutes until I hear some footsteps clanking on the metal floor. I quickly equip my sword, ready for Shadow or Knuckles to appear. I slowly set it down when Cream turns the corner, revealing herself, as well as her Chao, Cheese, in her arms. She stops when she sees me. I raise a brow.

"Cream, you should be sleeping. This is _way_ past your bedtime." I say, standing to my feet. She nods. "Yes Mr. Infinite, but I can't sleep." She mumbles. I smirk. "Guess we're sharing the same problem." I chuckle softly. Cream smiles. "I guess so, but Mr. Infinite…I don't know if I should ask about Luna, but-." She begins, but I raise my hand, ceasing her words. "Please. I'm…not in the mood."

"Sorry."

"You're okay little one. I…appreciate your concern. Well, now I do at least." I hum, patting the floor next to me. Cream turns her head away slightly. My smile grows. "Still don't trust me, huh? Understandable." I sigh. She nods. "That's part of it, but I would sit with you if you didn't have your sword." She whispers. I pick up my sword before sitting it down and sliding it away across the hallway. Cream smiles and walks to me, sitting a couple feet away from me. I lower my head and bite my lip.

"Cream…I'm _so_ sorry…About everything." I whisper, staring at my hands. Cream turns her head to me. "But…Mr. Infinite. Why?" She asks. Tears begin to well up in my eyes. "I'm sorry for scaring you that day. My heart was in the wrong place. My greed held my heart hostage. If I was only decent, I wouldn't have been such an- a…a jerk."

"…You're okay Mr. Infinite." She says softly. A small gasp exits my mouth and my head turns to her quickly. "You…You forgive me? Cream, after _everything_ I've done…Cream, just admit it. I don't need any comforting right now." I scoff softly. "Admit what?"

"That you're lying."

"I'm not!"

"Then why forgive me?!" I shout, slamming my hand on the metal wall. She jumps in surprise. Silence soon answers. "My mama says everyone has a heart, no matter how mean they are. Amy and Mr. Sonic told me that you love Luna a lot. You have a heart for her, don't you?" She asks, clutching Cheese harder. The tears that have been on the verge of falling soon do fall. Cream scoots to me and places her hand on mine as I begin to sob out loud. Cream grasps my hand. I grasp hers tightly.

"Cream! There you are!" Amy shouts, dashing to us. Cream turns her head to me. "Mr. Infinite, will you be okay?" She asks. I open my eyes, forcing up a shaky smile. "Y-Yes. For now at least. It's just…my girlfriend's unconscious…she's suffering. I'll never be _truly_ okay until she wakes up." I mumble loudly. "But I can calm myself down, Cream. You go and get some sleep." I hum. Cream smiles and waves as Amy leads her back to their dorm room. When they disappear, I stand to my feet and snatch up my sword and look at it. I clench my jaw, the image of Dr. Eggman flashing in my mind.

"Egghead…It's time you pay for the misery you have caused Mobius, the galaxy and this crew. It's time for you to be set in your rightful place…It's time for you to go to Hell."


	35. Not Weak Anymore

(7:30 A.M.)

(Sonic's View)

(That Morning)

( _The Blue Typhoon_ ; Dorm Room)

 _Guess I'm the first one to wake up. This is weird._ I think to myself as I rise out of my bed, quietly setting my feet onto the floor. With a stretch of my arms and a heavy yawn, I rub my eyes and walk out of the dorm, quickly deciding to see how Luna's condition is. With that note, my mind instantly makes up its mind _not_ to do that. I mean, the big, bulky machine that reads Luna's vital signs is so complicated and weird that I don't want to mess with it. It could mean Luna's life. Besides, Tails is the only one who knows what all those numbers and letters mean anyways.

 _Well, maybe I can check on Infinite. Hopefully he's asleep by now, but seriously, why did Ames have to wake me up and had to tell me then?_ I think to myself as I make my way to the storage room where we've made a room for Infinite and Luna when they first arrived. Soon, I arrive to the storage area and open the door slightly, only to find Infinite's sword to be inside. Infinite is nowhere to be seen in the room. I, fearing the worst, zoom to the cockpit, hoping that them not betraying us wasn't a lie. Thankfully, the cockpit doesn't seem to have changed any, though I will speak to Tails to make sure. Can't take a chance on this one.

The next place that he might be in is, of course, Luna's infirmary room. Also, to me at least, it's the _last_ place he'd be in. The Master Emerald chamber only opens to Knuckles' fingerprint or a numeric code that all of us except Infinite and Luna know, so I believe that Infinite wouldn't be there. Besides, if he _did_ try to steal it, alarms would blare and Knuckles would slaughter him without remorse. Yeah, I don't want that anytime soon. With all that in mind, I zoom to the infirmary room to find the light dim and the door cracked open slightly. I peek through the crack to find Infinite sleeping. His hands are placed on top of one another on the edge of Luna's bed, near her hand. A faint smile creeps up my face.

 _He sure loves that girl… This is the purest love that I've ever seen. If he actually doesn't care about Luna, I'd be really surprised, even after everything he has done to Mobius, plus some of this galaxy. Maybe it IS time to forgive him…_ I think to myself in a hum, turning around. I quietly grab the doorknob and close the door shut. I open my eyes to see Tails in front of me. Surprised, I holler out. Tails jumps up too.

"Tails! Buddy! Don't scare me like that!" I whisper fiercely through clenched teeth, hoping the clenched teeth would soften my voice. Tails runs his hand through his head fur. "Sorry, Sonic. I was wondering where you went." He giggles nervously. I nod and ruffle his head. "Thanks. So, did you go to the cockpit already? Like usual?"

"Yep! But why do you ask?" He asks me. I sigh. "I didn't know if Infinite had hijacked it. I mean, he _was_ a villain, Tails. I just don't want to take any chances." I reply. Tails nods. "Understandable. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary." He replies, a smile on his face. I nod. "Cool. Let's head to the living area before we wake up Infinite." I say. Tails nods and begins to hover with his tails. We begin to walk towards the living area only to be stopped by Knuckles, who must have waked up as he yawns loudly.

"Sonic… _yawn_ …Can't believe you're the first one up. What happened to you, man?" He asks. I shrug my shoulders. "Don't know, Knucklehead. So, where you heading? The chamber?" I ask, punching him on the shoulder. He shakes his head. "No. The kitchen. I need to grab some of those grapes before they go bad." He says quietly before walking away. I turn my head to Tails. "Speaking of food, you hungry?" I ask, resuming our walk. He shakes his head. "No. Not yet at least. You getting' a chili dog?" He asks. I nod. "Why would I not?" I laugh as we walk through the living area to the kitchen. There, we find Amy and Cream eating some pancakes. Amy's eyes shoot open when she sees me. I smile nervously and wave. She waves back, winks at me before going back to eating. I smile and grab a chili dog from the fridge, go to the microwave and begin heating it up when Cream pokes me. I turn to her.

"What's a matter, Cream?" I ask, noticing her eyes are filled with worry. "Mr. Sonic…I'm just a bit worried about Mr. Infinite. He was really sad when I talked to him last night…" She mumbles. I smile and kneel to her. "I think he's fine, Cream. He was sleeping in the infirmary room; he must have finally relaxed to the point that he could sleep. I can talk to him when he's awake."

"Okay. Thank you. And can you tell him that I'm still worried?" She asks. I nod. "Of course." I hum, ruffling her hair. I stand to my feet, grab my chili dog and begin eating, leaning against the wall.

15 minute soon pass without Infinite coming to us. Knuckles is the first one to finish eating. He, with a stretch of his arms, asks the question that is probably on everyone's mind. "Do you know where Infinite is? You think he's still in the hospital room?" He asks in another yawn. Tails opens his mouth to answer, but Infinite intercedes. "No. I'm right here." He whispers. "Sorry I'm late. Guess I slept longer than usual."

"Of course you did, Infinite. You were up so long! I guess we were just used to you being here earlier, so that's why we asked!" Amy hums. He gives out a faint smile. "I see." He says, walking to the fridge, pulling out a blueberry muffin. Cream pokes me, reminding me of my promise. I walk to Infinite, who raises both of his eyebrows as he sees me. "Infinite. I need to talk to you. It's nothing bad; I just want to talk. Like a chat and all." I say. Infinite hesitates, but nods in approval. We soon walk into the living area, where we sit down on a red couch.

"Infinite. First off, Cream wanted me to tell you that she's worried sick about you." I hum, winking to Cream. Infinite turns his head in Cream's direction and nods with a faint smile. Cream nods back before running to Amy's side. Infinite turns his head back to me. "Anything else?"

"Yes. I wanted to let you know that I think it's amazing on how much you've changed." I hum. He scoffs. "Of course you do, since I'm on the "good side." He scowls, biting into his muffin. I nod. "Yeah yeah. I know, but it's not that simple. Think about it. You didn't care about _anything._ You had no remorse when you killed people, and yet you had the capability to love and you let that capability come out. You gave Luna a chance and she gave _you_ a chance and look where you are now. It's impressive."

"Thanks Sonic. I'm still surprised you trust me. All of you guys." He murmurs. I nod. "Well, after seeing how you've become stronger, it's the least we can do." I reply. Infinite's eyes snap open. "You're…you think I'm strong?"

"I didn't at first, but yeah. You are. You know, I heard this quote somewhere. Sometimes it hurts more to hang on than to let go, man. And you did let go. That, I think, is _true_ strength. And you know what that means?"

"What?"

"That means you're _not_ weak. Not _anymore_."


	36. Dr Eggman's New Army Attacks

(That Night)

(Infinite's View)

(Infirmary Room)

She's getting better. Luna's recovery is going smoothly, but unfortunately in a slower pace than even Tails' predicted. Luckily, his prediction was pretty close. According to the genius himself, Luna will wake up two days later than he initially expected. I just hope he's right. Let's just hope his hacking and changing the date of Dr. Eggman's catalogue about the poison will give Luna enough time to recover. Time is ticking for Dr. Eggman to wage war on us for betraying him, and we all know that Luna one of his main targets. Let's just hope for the best.

As I lie right next to Luna's infirmary room, on the floor, I soon begin to drift asleep, drifting to one of my only friends I have now. I believe that Sonic, Amy, Cream, Tails and I are friends, but Knuckles and Shadow is a different story. They'll never trust me, and I don't blame them.

Anyways, as I am nearing the state of sleep, alarms begin to blare. I perk up, eyes snapping open, stunned for a second from the sheer loudness of the alarms. I scramble to my feet, snatching my sword in the great possibility that Dr. Eggman has found us.

My prediction was spot on as Tails announces that he has arrived through the ship's intercom. But Dr. Eggman's arrival isn't what's truly worrying me. What is?

The forest planet's army. My former army that used to follow me when I took over its capital and claimed myself as king. However, at one point, I handed the reigns to Dr. Eggman after he threatened to kill Luna around the time when I first began to fall in love with her. I couldn't take the risk, and it seemed like a good idea at the time, especially since I happened to have a good butt load of trouble with all the political shit that kings go through. I couldn't manage it, so that's why he's the king now. In addition, karma might kick my ass from taking over the capital with no remorse, and now I have to face that now. Karma sucks.

Quickly, I, with reluctance, lock Luna's door, leaving her helpless thanks to her unconscious state. Knowing that locking a simple door won't be enough, I barricade the door with a large, metal box, filled with trash and scrap metal. Right after this, I hear someone running to me. Instincts take over. I swing my sword, only to stop it as I realize that it was Knuckles.

"Oh. It's you." I scoff. "You shouldn't charge at me like that!" I shout. Knuckles shakes his head. "This is NOT the time to argue, Infinite! Your former army is preparing to attack in their starships, so get your ass to yours! We don't have much time!" He shouts, dashing off towards the Master Emerald's chamber. I scoff. "Rather fight than fly." I scowl, bolting towards the starship bay with my super speed. Soon, skidding to a stop, I find Amy and Shadow climbing into their starship. Shadow mumbles something, but I don't ask what harsh words he said. We don't have the time. Boarding my starship, I follow Amy and Shadow's lead into space, quickly entering a dogfight with the less bulky, but much swifter starships. This swiftness quickly causes trouble for us three, making it extremely hard to take the starships down. In addition to their light starships, they also have cannons that fire bright green bolts at us. Thankfully, Tails upgraded our shields, making it virtuously impossible for the army's weak bolts to penetrate our shields.

With all of this in mind, with all these facts said, Shadow, Amy and I try vigorously to take down the immense amount of starships. The army has brought 30 ships. We have three. We're outnumbered 10:1, and by the time 10 minutes passes, only 6 have been taken down.

"I don't know how much longer we can take guys!" I holler through my radio to Amy and Shadow. Shadow scowls. "I know, but we need to keep going!" Shadow hollers back. I shake my head, biting my lip as well. "It's kind of hard when your fuel tank is already drained out a third of the gas tank!" I yell out, infuriated. "Just keep goin'! It's our only chance!"

"…No it's not." I reply firmly. Amy soon speaks. "What do you mean? Do you have an idea?" She asks. "Yes. I do. I need to get out of this ship. Shadow, prepare to take me onto the ship's wing!" I holler out, switching off my line, preventing any backlash from Amy or Shadow. After setting my ship's controls to land in the bay (yes, it's _that_ advanced), I, while it descends, leap out of the cockpit, barely landing on Shadow's right wing. Unsheathing my sword, I turn to Shadow.

"Shadow! Fly me straight towards the group! I'm slicin' them down!" I holler out. Shadow shakes his head. "Infinite! You'll die! Those bolts will pierce right through ya! It's a suicide mission!" He hollers out, his voice muffled by being in the cockpit, shielded by a glass cover. I shake my head. "But I NEED to, Shadow!" I holler back. "If not, we're toast! ALL of us!"

"I understand that, but I'm tellin' you this not for _your_ sake, you chinchilla! I'm tellin' you this for Luna's!" He scowls back, barely dodging a bolt from an enemy starship. My eyes snap open. Shadow shakes her head.

"Infinite. If you die. If you lose your life for hers, she'll go mad. She'll go insane like her father did. You both don't want that, so please, don't DO this." He scowls. I don't respond, but I know that he's right. I nod and turn to him. "Fine. But I need to help out. Is there anything I can do?" I ask as he quickly descends. Shadow opens his mouth to answer, but Tails' voice, from Shadow's cockpit, shouts out an announcement:

Dr. Eggman has arrived…and he's in a new Death Egg Robot, powered by the Chaos Emeralds. I snap my head to Shadow. "He HAS them?! I thought-!" I begin, but Tails intercedes from the cockpit. "We didn't bring them, Infinite. We thought that you'd and Luna would go after them, so we left them on Mobius. Dr. Eggman must have gone back there and found them all. Infinite, you and Sonic will go and destroy that Death Egg Robot together."

"What 'bout Luna? Could the-!?" I begin to ask if the Chaos Emeralds could heal her, but Tails intercedes once more. "Infinite. I understand you're worried, but we need to destroy the robot first." He replies. I sigh. "Fine. Where's Sonic?"

"He should be in Luna's room."

"What?! Why?!"

"He and I knew that you would want someone to protect her, so Sonic offered. But enough of all this explaining! Infinite, help out Sonic and let's destroy Dr. Eggman's plans!"


	37. Seeing the Light

(Luna's View)

 _Thump-thump-thump-thump_!

The sound of a heartbeat enters my ears in a soothing manner. My eyes are heavy. My limbs are tingling faintly and are gently pressed on something soft and warm. Also, the sound of frantic steps pounding against something metal also enters my ears. While all of these senses slowly begin to process in my brain, a moan exits my mouth without me deciding to do so. The moan causes whatever or whoever I'm with or on to tighten the warm, soft and furry feeling against my limbs. The footstep sound ceases. My back soon tingles for an instant when it laid on something cold.

"Luna…Can you hear me…?" A deep voice whispers shakily. My right hand is grasped by someone. I moan out in response. My chest is too heavy and weak to speak right now. However, instead of speaking, I manage to open my eyes, revealing Infinite staring at me with teary eyes. A faint, weak, but visible smile creeps up my face. Infinite smiles back.

"You're back. Sweet Mobius you're back!" He hums loudly, helping me sit up from the metal floor on the deck of the _Blue Typhoon_. I groan out, rubbing my eyes with my weak arms. "Wha…What happened…?" I huff out. Infinite shakes his head. "No time to explain. Just stay put. We're in a war at the moment." He says in a shaky voice, turning his head to the entrance to the interior of the _Blue Typhoon_. When he does, the door blasts from its hinges. Infinite grabs me, pulling me away from the oncoming door. He, too, doesn't get hit. My eyes widen as I see an army battalion of what appears to be 35 hedgehogs, coming towards us. Sonic, a couple seconds later, blasts through wall, tackling the leader of the army battalion. Infinite unsheathes his sword and then snatches mine.

"Mind if I borrow this?" He asks. "Y-Yeah…Do I have a choice?" I ask back. Infinite smirks. "No. You don't" He hums before charging towards the army battalion. As Sonic and my boyfriend fight, I bite my lip, tears streaming down my face.

I'm helpless in this moment, in this _important_ moment. I can't fight. I can't even walk. I need to help, but I can't. This punches me in the gut. My head soon lifts to look at the stars…

And then the moon.

 _The moon_.

Smiling weakly, I attempt to stand to my feet. As I predicted, though, my legs buckle. Infinite snaps his head to me for a split second, but the army turns his attention away from me. But, he does speak to me.

"Luna! You have to rest!" He hollers, kicking a hedgehog soldier in the face, which makes the solider topple another one down. Infinite quickly stabs the soldier in the forehead, ending their lives quickly, ending their lives without pain (talk about a change from his former self.) I shake my head weakly. "Infinite! Please listen! Get me to the moon!" I huff out. Infinite, slitting another soldier's throat wide open, turns his attention to Sonic, who chucks a dazed soldier onto the last remaining "healthy" soldier. Sonic turns his head to me. "What do you mean?"

"My powers are incorporated to the moon, right? And Infinite, you know that the moon powers me up. If you guys can get me to lie on the moon, I can heal…" I huff out, my head lightening. I expect a response, but nothing comes. Silence answers. My weak body soon is lifted into Infinite's arms. Sonic tosses something to him. Soon, I realize that my sweetheart is contacting Shadow from above. I lift my head to see a dogfight in space. I clench my jaw in rage, the rage strengthening my body a bit. I gently hop out of Infinite's arms, my legs now strong enough to support my body weight. Infinite lets out a small gasp. I grin. "I'm stronger than you think." I hum, winking at him. Infinite, instead of smiling or responding, hands my bloody sword to me, grabs me and before I could comprehend what he's doing, my chest slams onto the wing of Shadow's starship. Clutching onto the wing, I am zoomed to the moon, my body flying onto the moon when Shadow sharply turns, launching me off of his wing. When my back hits the moon's surface, something…interesting happens.

My vision sees a bright light, identical to the cliché "I see the light" phrase that is stated in young adult books when the character is about to die. The light fades, but instead of the vast, starry sky that I expected to see, I come to see memories of my life flashing before me. Then, it ends, but not with a memory.

It ends with a face.

Infinite's.

My body, in that instant, heats up, the tingling fading away. My joints pop and my muscles strengthening quicker than I've ever thought possible. My vision returns to its normal state, staring at the starry, space sky. To my surprise, I find myself being above the moon. I was floating.

Landing onto my feet, I look up to the dogfight above me. With a swing of my sword, I leap onto Shadow's incoming starship, clutching to the wing's edge. Shadow, blasting down an enemy starship, looks at me for a second.

"That was a sight to see. You glowing and all." He says. I raise a brow. "Glowing? Me? That never happened before." I hum, confused and curious of Shadow's words. Shadow smirks. "I figured. The moon healed you completely. So, you ready to head into the Death Egg when it comes?" He asks. "Wait…the Death Egg? I thought Sonic destroyed it!" I holler out. Shadow nods. "He did. Eggman constructed another one, powered by the Chaos Emeralds. The robot should be coming any second." Shadow states firmly. I nod. "Yes. I'm ready. It's time for Egghead to pay for what he has done the galaxy." I scowl. Shadow nods. "Yes…and what he did to you too. Guess you don't remember though, being in the state you were in."

"What did he do?!"

"He poisoned you. We can discuss what happened while you were later. We have a robot to destroy. Now, let's get to it."


	38. Invading the Death Egg

(Luna's View)

(10 Minutes Later)

(On Shadow's Starfighter Wing)

"Holy f*cking stars…" I quietly awe as the enormous, black/red, egg-shaped, steel robot beast appears, hovering through the enemy starship line as the last active starfighter is exterminated by Amy's ship. Amy corkscrews to Shadow's side. I slowly stand to my feet, grasping my sword tight. The top of the Death Egg, shielded by a thinner sheet of metal rolls down into the upper torso of the Death Egg, revealing a ridiculously thick glass dome, revealing Eggman's cockpit with him, of course, grasping some of the controls on its panel. Hysterical laughing reverberates from the built in speakers. I grunt spits out of my mouth.

"Enough laughing Egghead! This isn't the time to be amused!" I holler out. Eggman's laugh becomes louder and even more hysterical, amused by my words.

"I still cannot believe you worked with that freak, Luna." Shadow spits. I groan. "Tell me about it. It's kind of sad, actually." I scoff out, the annoyance within me climbing. Eggman calms down soon after and presses a button in the cockpit. The chest of the Death Egg begins to glow bright, ocean blue. The arms soon goes into an offensive stance. Unsheathing my sword, I command Shadow to fling me. Shadow hesitates, but obliges, speeding towards the Death Egg. The Death Egg, in response, fires bright green energy beam directly at us, but more specifically at _me_. Immediately, I activate my defensive aura around my body and sword right when I fling off of Shadow's wing. Shadow, meanwhile, returns to _the Blue Typhoon_. Funny thing is, I crack a smirk at that. The reason though, surprises even me.

He's putting his trust on me. It's probably a reluctant trust, but at least he has some for me.I mean, if I was still with Eggman, if my boyfriend, well, wasn't, I would have perceived Shadow's action the wrong way. I mean, it appears that he's abandoning me, but I know why now. I see the _real_ reason now. Let's hope I can fulfill this mission.

The beam soon collides onto me. The blue, defensive aura that surrounds my body begins to vibrate, rejecting the beam with all its strength. My heart skips a beat at this. My defensive aura is _vibrating_. It's beginning to weaken. I haven't witnessed that in a while. My aura can withstand so much power, but now reminded that it can truly shatter worries me. I need to finish this battle quickly.

When the beam fails to destroy my weakened aura, I, with the moon's assistance, I draw its power into me, allowing me to propel myself towards the Death Egg. Eggman responds to this by turning the hand of the Death Egg into a machine gun, firing bullets. I, having no other choice, use my aura as a body shield, forcing the bullets to ricochet off of it.

 _Almost there…_ I think. _Wonder how I'm going to break that hull…_

"HEY! LUNA! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Tails' voice shouts from my sword's hilt, breaking my thought process. I jerk a bit at the sudden words, causing my aura to weaken a bit for that split second.

"TAILS! YOU SCARED ME!" I spit back.

"Sorry, I some information that you really need to know." Tails replies calmly. Eggman's machine gun soon returns to a fist and attempts to slug me in the chest. My aura, yet again, shields me, yet something _really_ unfortunate happens.

The aura surrounding my body cracks. Two more shots like that and my aura is a goner. I bite my lip. "Better make it quick! Tryin' to not let my aura shatter!" I snap back, spinning to the left, dodging the slug attempt. Tails hesitates, but then speaks.

"I've located the Chaos Emeralds' location! It's in the center of the Death Egg!" He hollers. "It's well protected since path to them are filled with electric spears and crap loads of sensors to trigger them!"

"Great." I spit. "You sendin' any help?" I ask, unsheathing my sword, closing in to the chest of the Death Egg. Tails sighs out loud. My heart sinks.

"You're not, are you…"

"...No. We can't. We have a reason though. It's-." He begins to say, but I end the connection from my sword. Knowing that I'm alone is already too much to bear. I didn't want to hear why Tails won't send reinforcements. This thought process, though, ends when a bright, red light comes from the chest of the Death Egg. The red is mixed with green. I clench my jaw, understanding the fate that could come if I'm hit.

It could mean my death, but not just that.

It could mean the corruption of Infinite. I saved him and I cannot bear the thought of his heart becoming stone cold yet again. The red/energy beam soon spins, ready to fire at me. I, harnessing the moon's power within my body, rocket under the beam, heading straight towards its center from underneath. The beam though, heads straight towards the _Blue Typhoon_.

"NO!" I scream out. The beam slams onto the ship, sending it backwards. My rage instantly peaks within me, my veins heating up. This stalling, though, allows Eggman to grab me by the Death Egg's hand. My aura begins to crack further. My rage climbs as I resist the grip. My unbearable rage soon takes over, morphing my defensive aura to _offensive_ , even with the chance of being crushed being well aware in my head. Shooting my hands out from my side, the offensive aura shatters two holes into the hand, the circuitry sparking bright blue sparks. I clench my fist and punch into the palm, as well as the arm of the Death Egg, leaving a clean hole into it.

"Time to do this." I reassure myself, rocketing into the inner part of the arm. Curls of circuitry of nearly all colors blocks my path with a spider web feel. I unsheathe my sword, instinctively slashing through the wires.

Huge mistake.

The sliced wires begin to shoot out white sparks of electricity. One of the thin bolts passes through the crack in my body shield, frying a part of my shoulder. I scream in pain, clutching it. More and more sparks fly, leaving me two choices: Leave the arm and risk my life to find another way in or fight through the sparks, leaving luck, endurance and strength to be my only allies. With a grunt, I sigh, unsheathe my sword and with a battle cry, charge towards the intact wires. My body shield begins to vibrate and crackle. At the end, I leap, tumbling through thick wires, that is, until I plummet downwards. My back slams onto something hard and hot, the heat burning a part of my shirt. Sizzling and smoke burns through the dusty smell. With a hiss, I manage to stand to my feet, finding myself in the Chaos Emerald chamber. Unsheathing my sword, I prepare to stab the glass container, but sensors blare out, signaling electricity to zap onto my battered body shield. The shield begins to crack more, leaving me a couple shots to break in. However, I know I had to use my offensive aura to break in. The electricity zaps keep coming. Sheathing my sword, I release all the energy of my battered shield off of me, switch to my offensive and bash through the glass and pull the wires off the Chaos Emeralds before I collapse onto the ground. The electric beams cease. A low, whirring sound turns silent. Reaching for my sword, the intercom inside beeps. My finger barely presses the button.

"Luna! Can you hear me?!" Infinite's voice sputters out. A faint, weak smirk curves up my face. "Yes...But I don't know for...how much longer…"

"What do you mean?! Are you hurt?!" He hollers, the power of his voice creating an instant migraine. In addition my head begins to spin. "Y-Yeah...Just...hurry baby…" I sputter out. Infinite begins to ask how hurt I am, but the words cease and my vision blackens, sending me into unconsciousness.


	39. Infinite: The Little Dork

(Infinite's View)

(Three Hours Later)

(The _Blue Typhoon_ )

"So she's going to make it." I firmly ask Tails as he, I and the rest of the crew, including Shadow and his girlfriend, Maria, stand in the small infirmary room, where Luna rests from her miraculous, heroic deed she has done on the now destroyed Death Egg. Tails, pressing buttons on the medical monitor, nods. "Yes, Infinite, for the _third_ time, she's going to make it. I just need to analyze a couple more things." He snaps, a bit annoyed by my frequent questions about Luna. Sonic walks to my side as I twiddle my thumbs, my anxiety climbing through the roof as Tails keenly looks at the numbers and letters which its meanings I cannot decipher.

"She'll be fine, Infinite. If Tails is certain, it's going to happen. She'll wake up." Sonic reassures me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I crack a smile, yet sigh in guilt, brushing off Sonic's hand from my shoulder. "Thank you, Sonic, but I should have done somethin' instead of leaving her to nearly die."

"There's nothing you could have done."

"Don't tell me that, Sonic! This is NOT time for GAMES!" I roar, spinning around to him. Everyone's attention, even Tails', turns to me as I glare shaky, enraged eyes into Sonic's bewildered ones. Quickly, I bite my lip and push everyone aside, walking out of the infirmary room. As usual, Sonic pursues me. I, unable to take the pressure of guilt any longer, I unsheathe my sword and point it at Sonic's throat. Taking a step back, he shows me open hands, signaling me to calm down.

Silence soon rings. Our eyes are locked. His (I presume) and my heart race to a beat of an imaginary snare drum. The wetness of my tears sog my cheeks. I didn't move from my position for what seems like 10 whole minutes. Sonic shakes his head, lowers his hands and lets out a sigh.

"Infinite…You know she's going to survive. You know how strong your girl is, so _why_ be this way?" He asks. Body now trembling, I bite my lip, the thought process that triggered this reaction now morphing into words.

"Be-cause. That's a _very_ educated _guess_ , Sonic. What if she _doesn't_ make it. What if she _dies_ on me when I could have DONE SOMETHING!" I roar, tears flinging off my drenched face. "Tails cannot predict the future with that machine, Sonic."

"I know, but he's pretty sure."

"That's my POINT! He's PRETTY SURE! That means there IS a CHANCE!" I boom. Sonic exhales a breath out of his nose. "Yeah…you're right…I see where you're comin' from there, Infinite, but can't you hang on to faith? That could be the key here." Sonic attempts to reassure me. "Infinite, you shouldn't be like this." Sonic comments.

"And why should _you_ tell _me_ what to do."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Sonic groans back, brushing his hands on top of his top, blue quill. "Infinite, listen. If you keep this up, you'll turn that heart against itself. You'll become to slaughtering, wretched, bastard of a monster you were before Luna came into your life." Sonic replies. I smirk, exhaling a quick breath out of my nose.

"I never heard you cuss before there, Sonic." I hum in a very slight, deep chuckle. Sonic smirks. "I only use cuss words when I'm tryin' to prove a point or get into someone, Infinite." He replies in a sneer. "But…Do you want to become that monster again?"

"I…I don't, but it might happen if Luna doesn't make it…" I spit out, clutching my chest fur. The spitting wasn't against Sonic though. It was against _me_. Against what I truly was before. I _was_ a bastard of a monster. Sonic nods as I look at him. "I saw that comin', Infinite. But hey, it's not likely it's going to happen. Come on, let's head back and-." Sonic begins, but the infirmary door opens violently as it is kicked open. We both, in shock, snap around to find Shadow and Maria walking out, then Amy, then a grinning Knuckles, a giggling Cream and a confident looking Tails.

And then a conscious, bandaged up Luna. Luna, when our eyes lock, sheds tears before slowly walking to me. Instincts though, take over. I dash to her and embrace her tight. Tighter than I've ever done to anyone…even my Jackal Squad when we won something. My hands clench onto her back quill.

"Oh thank Mobius you made it! Oh thank Mobius…" I choke up. Luna giggles. "You're so cute when you're worried, ya know that?" She giggles into my ear. My eyes widen. She never said that to me before. I then jokingly nod a couple times. "…Maybe."

"Oh quit lyin'!" She laughs back, stepping back. I copy, but a new urge arises. I bite my lip, unsure if I should let the urge take over. Luna begins to blush. She gently smiles.

"You dork." She giggles, grabbing my arms and pulling me in, our noses touching. I open my mouth, but no words exit. I was stunned stiff, in a good way I suppose. She giggles and shakes her head. "So, red cheeks, should I do it or-?" She begins to ask, but I free my arms from her grasp by pushing downwards quickly and forcefully, grab her shoulders tight and kiss her. She steps back, but continues the kiss. She, though, decides when the eternal kiss would end. Pulling back, she begins to sob happily. Grabbing her hands, I pull them up.

"I love you, Luna. Now until the end of eternity…"

"I know, you little dork."

"But…I need to tell you something. I-It's nothin' bad, but it's actually a thank you." I sputter out. She smiles. "For still trusting you after all the shit happened on Akar?"

"Actually…no." I mumble, taking her hands. She gapes ever so slightly, cheeks turning bright pink. "I thank you for giving me the chance to realize that I should be happy no matter where I go, because I'm still alive, and life is _wonderful_."


	40. The Finale

(A Week Later)

(Infinite's View)

(Above the Planet Akar)

"Calm down Infinite. You know what her answer will be. There's no possible way she'll say "no", so why bother to think about it?" Sonic asks me, punching me gently on the shoulder as the _Blue Typhoon_ hovers directly above Akar ozone layer. I nod, agreeing with Sonic's words as I adjust my formal coat. I bite my lip. "I know, Sonic. I'm just afraid things won't go as expected from that point on. It's a real responsibility."

"Yeah. I guess so." Sonic laughs. "I kind of thought about it, but I'm still not ready." Sonic replies, helping me with the coat from behind, flipping down the coat collar. Brushing some dust off, Sonic grabs my shoulders and turns me around, locking his green eyes onto my yellow and blue ones. "You ready man?" Sonic asks with an excited grin on his face. Exhaling a nervous, but happy breath out of my nose, I nod slowly. "Yes. I am. Tell Tails to land the _Typhoon_ at the palace."

"Will do!" Sonic hollers out, bolting out of the room, going Mach 1 to the cockpit. After 25 seconds or so, the _Blue Typhoon_ begins to descend to Akar. Sonic then stands in front of me, sending a feeling of bewilderment as I notice a tux jacket on him, but of course, no pants. A sincere smile creeps up my face. Gently slapping his shoulder, I open my mouth to thank him, but Sonic shakes his head before I could say anything.

"It's nothing, Infinite. I'm just happy that you're doin' this." Sonic hums, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, walking with me to the hatch door. I smirk. "Yes. I thought you'd say such a thing…but she's only 18, Sonic. I mean, yes I'm 20, but don't you think-?" I begin to ask Sonic, but Sonic shakes his head. "Na man! As long as you're happy, it's nothing to be ashamed of! Now enough talk man! Let's get this party started!" Sonic hollers as the hatch door begins to hiss. I let out a shaky breath, slipping my hand into my coat, grabbing the tiny cube inside tightly. My heart begins to pump when I spot Luna chatting with Amy and Cream. Her sweet smile is on her face.

"SONIC!" Amy squeals, dashing to Sonic. Sonic steps back, a bit nervous at Amy's extreme love to him, shown in her face. Sonic prepares to run, but I grab his arm, giving Amy enough time to tackle Sonic in a bear hug. Sonic smirks up an extremely embarrassed, uncomfortable, but faint happy smile as Amy forcefully hugs him. I chuckle out at Sonic's unfortunate circumstance with Amy.

"Infinite?" Luna asks me from behind. I perk up, snapping around to her as I spin on one foot, my heart skipping a beat. Luna stares into my nervous, tear filled eyes before looking at my coat.

"What's the get-up Infinite? Something going to happen in the palace?" She asks. I shake my head. "No. Not today at least." I sputter out. Luna knits her eyes. "You're hiding something, aren't you?" She asks firmly. I chuckle nervously. Slowly, I take her hand and guide her to the nearby marble steps of the king's palace, the same palace where I woke up after I was possessed. My body begins to shake a bit, luckily not noticeable to anyone but me. With a shaky sigh, I begin my prepared, but somewhat improv speech.

"Luna." I begin. "I know we've had an...interesting relationship through the years. I know that I've been an asshole to many people, including out friends here, but all those bad things will come to an end today. Luna. You're the love of my life, my best friend, my companion and girlfriend and today...I want to change that...for the better." I say with a choked up voice, pulling out a little black box from my formal coat. Kneeling down on one knee, I raise the box up and open the lid, revealing an engagement ring.

"Luna the Hedgehog...will you marry me?" I say a bit louder. Luna, streaming down tears of joy, places her hand over mouth when I ask. After a quick hyperventilation fit, she uncovers her mouth and nods.

"Yes! I'll marry you baby!" She squeals, leaping onto me. We crash onto the ground, arms embraced. Sonic and others applaud before running to us. I stand up first, pulling a crying Luna up onto her feet. She suddenly grabs my shoulders, leaning in and kissing me on the lips. I wrap my arms around her and continue the kiss that symbolized the dream of becoming Luna's husband coming true, but that's not the only thing it symbolizes.

This kiss symbolizes that I'm accepted by her and that I've changed so much to be accepted. This symbolizes the person I've become…and I'm proud of it.

I have found who I _really_ am…and it's all thanks to my fiancée and soon…my beautiful, perfectly imperfect wife.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys! What a journey this story has been! I am actually planning to do a sequel of this story, but it won't be for a very long time because of the countless other stories I want to do! I promise you though that there's a good chance the sequel will become a reality!**

 **Thank you SO much for all the love a support and please, have a good day!**


End file.
